Blade of DxD
by Lord Baboon
Summary: "I don't spend every day regretting it, after all, that'll never fulfill her last wish, to move forward and live for myself." A boy from another world is reborn into an unforgiving one with siscons and perverts for rulers, but what's to say that he's useless, after all, he does have a lot of swords to use. IsseixHarem (Obviously) OCxSmallHarem. (M for language and possible lemons)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD I only own my OC**

The long gray clouds blanketed the heavens, concealing them from the eyes of the denizens of Kuoh Town. Their mingling bodies took no notice to the chilled air in which one could see their own breath, several people looking to escape the status of the weather and return to their warm houses with their warm fireplaces. One individual however, disregarded this as he moved through the crowds.

A boy with bright forest green eyes and dark colored hair. A single streak of white differentiating itself from the rest of his raven colored locks. The boy was incredibly young, to the point where he looked around five to six years old, his clothes were stained and worn, no doubt for prolonged days on the roads. His eyes were dark and empty as he moved through the busy streets. Steps never faltering as he moved forward, eyes locked on an invisible destination. Raven locks swaying in the winter breeze as he ignored the chill and the falling snow.

Adults and teens glanced his way several times, some of contempt, some of pity. He ignored them, they didn't matter, all that mattered was that he kept moving forward. The image of a woman with bright golden hair and the same colored eyes appearing in his mind, a gentle smile covering her face.

" _Move forward."_ The woman said, _"Move forward and never stop, never hesitate or look back, there will be too many things you'll regret if you do."_

His eyes narrowed in determination even as his legs began to shake from strain of walking without food or water for several days. Food, at the mention of that word more memories surfaced, memories where he was never hungry, memories where he had a soft place to sleep. Memories where he was happy. And yet, he was also lonely, which was why he took comfort and solace in heroes, heroes with spirits stronger than iron, with flames more powerful than the sun, with resolve that could never break or falter. He desired to be like those heroes, like those that fought for what they believed in, for what they dreamed about. And yet, all of that crashed down to an end.

He remembered a girl, small and young running across the road with a wide smile and open arms, oblivious to the approaching truck. Instinct flared to life inside him as he charged, the memories after that were foggy, he remembered pain, unimaginable amounts of pain. He also remembered the vague sense of floating, as if he were suspended in water, yet he could breathe. He couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't feel anything except the shallow beat of his heart.

Then he opened his eyes to a woman with bright green eyes, smiling down at him.

It had been jarring, knowing that he'd been reborn. Confusion ruled the forefronts of his mind for several months. His mother had managed to teach him small amounts of Japanese and he'd been happy with her, she was kind, gentle and she always smiled despite their poor situation as they never had a lot of money. His father had abandoned them and he could tell that there was something behind her smile, a deep sorrow that bothered her greatly. There was something else too, fear maybe? He never identified it before the pounding at the door in their house one time. She screamed at him to hide, to run and never stop moving forward.

He ran and hid, his room under the bed the only place he could think of. He heard yelling, a smacking sound, a strange smell. When the sounds faded and footsteps indicated leaving, he left his hiding spot and went to his mother, disgust ran through him when he did.

The sight had been almost been indescribable. The most apparent item was the large slash wound that ran across the length of her jugular. Anger shot through him as he took in the status of his mother's clothing and the various bruises that decorated her exposed body.

His mother had been killed, and her killer had raped her.

He quickly spun around, grabbed a small backpack, and shoved it with several days' worth of food and clothes. When he walked back into the family room, he closed the empty dead eyes of his mother and walked out, never looking back at the house.

That had been several weeks ago and he was running out of food, in hindsight it was foolish to bring only a backpack when it came to storing travel items. Then again, they never had much in the first place. His mother had to work three shifts just to afford the house they slept in. That didn't even cover food and clothes. The descent into winter truly bothered him somewhat, not the cold, he had grown used to that. The falling snow at nighttime had reminded him of his mother.

" _Do you see it? The snow as it falls from the sky, my mother once told me that the snow comes from the stars of the night sky, she said that when the snow is gone, it returns to the sky in a new star."_ He remembered it; after all, he was named after that.

His legs shook again and he frowned, hunger and cold gnawed at his body and his stomach growled. Moving out of the busy crowd he moved to an empty alleyway, sitting down and unpacking several crackers from his backpack alongside a thick blanket.

The snow fell harder as he chewed on the pseudo-meal, he shivered, the blanket doing little to ward off the coming blizzard. He needed warmth, and soon, if he didn't find any, he wouldn't survive through the night. But he couldn't die, not yet, not until he found her killer and made him pay.

His eyes hardened as he thought of _him_. _That man_ , the one who'd killed his mom. That was his reason for leaving the house, he'd find his mother's killer and avenge her death. _That man_ would die, just as she had. No, that was too merciful, _his_ death would be slow and painful, he'd make it so _he_ would feel every second of pain his mother felt as if it were a year's worth. His grip tightened on the blanket to the point where it would rip if he applied any more pressure. He was taken from his dark thoughts by a melodic voice that sounded _very_ familiar.

"Ara? What's a little boy such as yourself doing out in such weather?" The boy looked up to see a woman with amber eyes and black hair tied into a high ponytail. She was currently wearing attire that one would commonly see on a _miko_ with a white _kosode_ top and red colored _hakama_. She was currently wearing a gentle smile that _eerily_ reminded him of his mother. "And with such a frightening expression on your face… Why don't you come with me and warm up?"

The boy prepared to refuse her before he hesitated, other than the fact that this woman resembled his mother, she seemed… Familiar. As if he had seen her before, not in this life, but perhaps in his previous one. Maybe it was the outfit; his other self _was_ greatly obsessed with Japanese culture, despite being an American.

He frowned in thought before looking up and nodding, what did he have to lose? If the woman had any ulterior motives, he could flee from her residence easily enough. Said woman's smile seemed to deepen as she offered a hand to his shivering frame.

"What's your name?" She asked, the boy opened his mouth, and closed it before looking down. His mother had taken their father's name, and he _loathed_ using the name of the man that abandoned them. He looked back up and responded simply,

"Yukiyo."

The woman raised an eyebrow and frowned in confusion, but that melted away to a smile as she nodded.

"My name is Himejima Shuri. It's nice to meet you, Yukiyo-kun."

 **-XXXX-**

Any pretense of mistrust faded as the woman introduced herself, Himejima Shuri, as in Himejima Akeno's mother. The story had never given her much mind, but Akeno had described her as a kind shrine priestess, and yet, this woman was an even bigger sadist than _Akeno_. Who was quite possibly one of the _biggest sadists_ he had ever seen.

Yukiyo frowned in thought at the realization of being reborn into the world of DxD. This was one _dangerous world_ behind all of the enormous breasts and Siscon Satans. Between the Devils, Angels and Fallen, each had some form of existence that possessed _world-altering_ powers. Behind the smiles, the Siscons, the Mahou Shoujou, and the Fanatics. Existed cold war veterans. That didn't even compare to the _ultimate_ existences in the forms of _Gods_ and _Dragons_ , not to mention the divine pair, _Ophis and Great Red_. Beyond them, _Trihexa_.

His grip on Shuri's hand tightened as these thoughts came to him, he would have to become strong, learn what strength he could and surpass all of the obstacles in his way, to move forward, to find her killer, to avenge what he cared about.

This was his vow, his resolve, his dying will. He would become strong. He would become strong enough to crush anything in his way. He wouldn't be a leaf, a petal blowing in the wind, a speck of snow falling into the ground. No, he would become an avalanche, burying anything that came in between him and what he desired in devastating ice and snow.

Yukiyo's thoughts were interrupted however, by the timely growling of his stomach. His face burned in embarrassment as Shuri laughed softly at his expense. He looked up at the woman who had invited him in, she tilted her head and smiled, a kind and inviting smile that showed no malicious intent. It was almost as if she was saying, "Come home" with no words at all.

Yukiyo looked away promptly with a scowl and slight blush. This only embarrassed him as Shuri laughed softly once again. He looked back up at her when she had looked forward, the thought of this woman being a sadist at all was hard to believe. She was so… _warm_. Not to mention kind enough to bring in a random boy from the streets on the verge of freezing to death.

He scowled at the thought of her approaching death; this woman had _saved_ him. It would be a cold day in hell (the irony in that statement dawned on him) before he let her die. He'd work to protect Shuri, to protect what she cared about.

"Ah, we're here."

He looked up to see a large shrine at the top of a hill. His hand remained in Shuri's as they ascended the steps. It stayed in her's as she opened the door and remained even as she stumbled from a violet missile that collided with her midsection.

"Kaa-chan!"

Yukiyo glanced over to the small girl with black hair that reached her waist and violet colored eyes. She was wearing a _miko_ 's attire that was similar to her mother's, but it was dark purple as opposed to her mother's combination of white and red. At the moment, a bright smile covered her face as she reached her hands towards the sky.

"Up! Up!"

Shuri laughed softly as she let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around her daughter. She groaned from false exertion.

"My, my, Akeno-chan, you're getting very big for someone your age." She said and Akeno pouted.

"Mouuu… Tou-chan is always so lazy! He never wants to teach me how to use magic!" She said while waving her arms. It was then that Akeno took notice of the black haired boy with green eyes that was standing next to her mother.

Yukiyo on the other hand, was trying to compare the Himejima Akeno in Shuri's arms to the Himejima Akeno that he'd seen in the anime. She seemed so… innocent compared to the seductive sereness of the other Akeno. Could this Akeno be like her future self if Shuri was still alive? No, she still would've been the major sadist that she turned out to be.

Still, to see Akeno smiling so widely without restraint… It was a jarring feeling to say the least.

"Kaa-chan, who's this dirty boy?"

"Now now, Akeno-chan, be nice to our guests." Shuri scolded which made Akeno slouch and turn back to Yukiyo.

"I'm sorry."

Yukiyo didn't say anything, merely nodding while still comparing the Akeno now to the future Akeno. In… other aspects than personality.

Meanwhile, Shuri smiled gently at her daughter and set her down in front of Yukiyo, "Akeno-chan, this is Yukiyo-kun, why don't you two introduce yourselves?"

Akeno smiled wide and nodded before turning to the boy in ratty clothes. "Hi! I'm Himejima Akeno, nice to meat you!"

The boy merely nodded again with a curt "Yukiyo." Seemed like he wasn't one for words.

That didn't mean that Akeno wasn't any less excited, she rarely got to leave the shrine and as such, she didn't have many friends. Maybe this boy would be friends with her if she was nice to him! After all, Kaa-chan said that people you're nice to people, they will become your friends eventually.

Their introductions were interrupted as a large muscular, middle aged man walked into the room, wearing what appeared to be ornamental armor on his shoulders and thighs, violet robes beneath that and a cape wrapped around his neck. He was a gruff man with black hair and a scruffy beard, a stern look in his gaze as he moved from whatever room he was in previously, to the entryway. Shuri smiled gently as he entered and Akeno gave a bright smile before launching herself at him in a similar manner that she did with Shuri.

"Tou-chan! Kaa-chan came back and brought a boy with her!"

Thankfully, no one noticed Yukiyo cringe at Akeno's last statement before his face schooled itself in a neutral expression. Her unexpected innocence aside, Yukiyo could tell in an instant that there was something… different about the man in front of them. He instinctively moved in front of Shuri as he felt the man's presence, it was akin to something… Light in nature, yet it carried slight amounts of taint to it. His neutral expression slipped into a scowl as he eyed the Fallen.

"Not human." He said, voice low and raspy from underuse. But the Cadre on the ground noticed it. Who then stood up and revealed stern purple eyes. Akeno stared at him in confusion as her father stood up with a scary look in his eyes.

"Akeno, go to your room."

The girl didn't need to be told twice as she took off at the frightening tone her father had taken. Yukiyo however, refused to be intimidated by the man in front of him.

"What are you doing?" The man asked, tone more inquisitive as opposed to threatening.

"Protect." He said, pointing to Shuri, the man smirked in response before walking forward. Shuri behind him softly laughed again.

"It seems that I've found a knight in shining armor." She said, her tone laced with amusement.

"Indeed." The man said before resting a hand on Yukiyo's greasy hair. "I acknowledge your resolve, little protector."

Yukiyo shook his head, "Not protector, Avenger."

The man's smirk faded to a frown in suspicion, no doubt wondering what would prompt a boy as young as him to call himself an avenger. "In that case… What's your name, little avenger?"

"Yukiyo."

The man's smirk returned, "Snowy night eh? A fine name, I am Baraqiel of the Holy Lighting."

Yukiyo smirked in return at the man who was infamous for his ability to use Holy Lightning. He knew who the man was; he just wanted a grasp at his personality. But from what he could tell, Baraqiel was an honest man who knew what he was doing.

"Well, Yukiyo-kun," Said boy turned to Shuri as she spoke up. "Why don't you go get cleaned up while I lecture my freeloader husband."

Yukiyo nodded and smirked as he noticed Baraqiel's rapidly paling face. This man was hopelessly whipped.

Baraqiel noticed it and sent him a small scowl, _'Cheeky brat.'_

 **-XXXX-**

Yukiyo sighed as warm water ran down his small body. The shower gave him the warmth that he so desperately needed. Warm showers had been a luxury that he and his mother couldn't afford as they didn't have enough money to pay for a heater. The only thing they could afford to heat was a fireplace that kept them warm in the winter months. He sighed as his thoughts drifted back to his deceased parent, before he discarded them. He missed her, of course he did. But that didn't mean he had to spend every waking moment regretting not being able to save her. He loved her and he remembered her, that was enough. After all, the important thing wasn't that she died, what was important was that she lived.

But that still didn't mean that her killer wouldn't receive retribution, he wouldn't lie to himself and say that he wanted to stop _him_ so that he wouldn't hurt anyone else. His purpose for hunting _that man_ was for vengeance alone, and that was enough.

He stared down at his hands, and cracked a single finger.

' _Mom, I promise, I'll make him pay for what he did.'_

 **AN: Now I'm sure that all of you who have read my work previously are asking yourselves. Why the hell am I starting another story while I already have one up?**

 **That's a simple question to answer; this damn idea won't leave me alone. Dragon Death God will be put on the backburner as I focus on getting this idea out of my head, speaking of which, Chapter 9 is currently in the works for that. If you're a follower of that story, then I only ask for your patience.**

 **Now before people get on my case about this being an OC Issei replacement-fic. Allow me to assure you that it's not. Issei will be present and he will get his screentime, but for now, Yukiyo's going to be taking the stage.**

 **Also, before everyone starts ranting that I "misspelled" Yukiyo's name, let me correct you. Yukiyo's name is spelled as:** **雪夜** **which is read as 'Yukiyo' when romanized. It also roughly translates to "night of snow." Which was what Baraqiel was referring to when he called Yukiyo "snowy night."**

 **Please leave a Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, like what you liked and what you think I could improve on. If you like this story than be sure to follow it so that you know when new chapters are going to be released. And if you like it quite a lot then please favorite it, it would mean a lot to know that my readers actually like the story.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, I only own my OC**

 _The world was black._

 _He couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything, it was almost akin to the sensations he experienced when he was reborn. Except the only feeling he could receive was a cold wind, he could feel nothing else, even the cold beat of his heart was gone, falling away to the emptiness around him._

 _Then, the blackness was pierced._

 _A golden light, one that radiated a very familiar warmth. It was one filled with love and care, one that he felt countless times before. He could see it already, her smile. He could see the beams turning into her golden hair. Her green eyes took shape in the shine. Her face and creamy skin forming into her ever present gentle smile that hid her true sadness beneath. Her arms were held open, the white dress she wore billowing in a nonexistent breeze._

" _Live." She spoke, her voice a song of the greatest of melodies. "Live for yourself, be who you want to be."_

 _He felt tears burn at the corners of his eyes. A feeling of desperation surged within him as she began to fade away. He ran forward, sprinting to catch up to her. Despair surging through him as his mother vanished._

" _Mom! MOM!"_

 _His voice was met with silence as he continued to run in an attempt to find her. Once he reached the light, however, the world seemed to explode. The darkness fading away to reveal a world filled with an endless amount of swords. Some appeared pristine and newly forged, while others were cracked and worn from use. The world was barren, only filled with a desert hill and enormous gears that turned even though they were isolated in the sky, which was bathed in a series of scarlet and oranges, painting the world in an eternal dawn. The sky itself seemed to reflect off the blades, making seem as though they were lit aflame._

 _His body shuddered as he felt something run through his arm._

" _ **I am the ***** of ********"**_

 _He looked down in shock, a long silvertip of a sword protruded from his palm. Several more shudders ran through his body as he felt something pierce his back._

" _ **Steel is my ******* and ***** is ********"**_

 _He collapsed as blood fell onto the ground, staining it a bright crimson color._

" _ **I have ******* nearly ***************"**_

 _He screamed out as the swords continued to protrude from every inch of flesh on his body. Blood continuing to fall as shudders constantly ran through his body with every sword._

" _ **Unknown to ************* nor ******** to *********"**_

 _He felt his mind begin to fragment himself; the only feeling he received was the continuous swords piercing his flesh. But through it all, the agony, he heard a single voice._

" _Live."_

 **-XXXX-**

Yukiyo bolted up, panting heavily. Sweat covered his body. His eyes were wide as they cast frantically around to discover that he was back in his room. His breathing slowed, racing heart calming to a slow pace.

Yukiyo sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. It wasn't the first time he'd had a dream like that, they had become increasingly common over the last few months. Making quite a few sleepless nights. It always started with an empty world and the figure of his deceased mother in a white dress. When he tried to catch her, the world exploded and he would end up in that hill filled with swords. His body would convulse and blades would pop up from every inch of his skin. It never hurt, but it wasn't a pleasant feeling. It'd end with his mother telling him to live while he died on the ground.

He sighed again as he looked around the room that Shuri had lent him for his stay at the shrine. It was rather spartan, only possessing a dresser with clothes and a few pictures on top and a bed in the corner by a window where he currently slept. Well, not just him.

His eyes drifted down and he smiled at the young girl that slept alongside him. It had been two years since Shuri had invited him to the shrine. He and Akeno had grown rather close during that time and she started to sleep with him after learning that he had nightmares of either the death of his mother, or the world of swords he just witnessed. He of course, didn't want to tell her that it wasn't working, as he knew that Akeno always had the best intentions. His smile grew as he rested a hand on her shoulder and ran his thumb across it a few times.

Yukiyo ran a hand through his hair, his thoughts beginning to drift back to the events that occurred over the past two years. Baraqiel had started to teach him how to fight, and even showing Akeno a few tricks to defend herself. They were rather young to start training, but Akeno was determined to learn what she could, as was Yukiyo. Unfortunately, he couldn't cast _any_ spells that had even a _trace_ of elemental magic.

His eyes closed as he thought back to when he first convinced Baraqiel to teach him how to fight.

 _Flashback._

Yukiyo sighed as he looked out the doorway to a small garden. It had been two months and Shuri had somehow managed to convince him to stay for a while. Baraqiel had been hesitant, but he gradually came to accept the green-eyed boy that had come into their household.

They had been slightly surprised when he asked Baraqiel to teach him how to fight. He merely reiterated that the Fallen wasn't human and he knew how to fight, unfortunately he hadn't managed to convince the stern Cadre. Any time he asked resulted in refusal, it was causing Yukiyo no small amount of frustration, as it seemed that Baraqiel was looking down on him for being a child. Yukiyo felt a scowl come on at that thought, he quickly dismissed it, but the feeling of frustration was still present.

He growled before pushing himself off the wall and stalking outside. The frustration at Baraqiel's refusals drove him down the steps and off the hill. He growled again as he walked along the streets of Kuoh with no particular destination in mind. Perhaps it was because of that wandering that he felt a hand grab his throat and drag him into an empty alley.

"So _you're_ the rat that the traitor took in?"

Yukiyo struggled to breathe as the man's grip on his throat tightened. The boy felt the air leave his lungs as he was slammed against the wall of the alley that the man had dragged him into.

"Heh, you truly are a pathetic boy huh?" The man asked with his face concealed save for a savage grin on his face. Yukiyo's eyes widened when he noticed a gleam of sharpened metal rest against the small part of his neck that was left exposed.

Then he felt something jolt deep within his soul, the man in front of him faded and Yukiyo was standing in front of several individuals. The knife in his hands was covered in blood and Yukiyo felt a smirk tug at his lips, which then shifted into a wild grin as he charged, his knife gleaming as it tore into the flesh of his targets, painting the ground and air a darkened red and staining his clothes.

' _Blood.'_ His wild grin seemed to stretch further as the knife in his hands hummed from satisfaction. _'Blood.'_ Every swing slit a throat or a wrist, every thrust pierced an eye or a lung. _'Blood, blood, bloodbloodbloodbloodbloodBLOOD!BLOOD!BLOOD!BLOOD!'_

Yukiyo gasped as another jolt ran through his body and he was back to where he was, against a wall with a serial killer holding his throat.

"Sorry, kiddo, but my wallet needs you to die, have fun in hell kid!"

Yukiyo snarled, which only seemed to amuse the man further.

"Defiant are we? We'll see how brave you are when you come face to face with the Devil!"

Yukiyo clenched his teeth and closed his eyes as the knife pressed harder against his throat, then a squelch of pierced flesh followed by a thump was heard and the knife vanished from his neck. Yukiyo collapsed to the ground, hands around his neck as he coughed. He didn't need to look up to see who had saved him; after all, he memorized Baraqiel's presence.

As he opened his eyes, Yukiyo had to hold back bile rising in his throat. Resting on the ground was a severed arm, cut cleanly at the bicep with a steady stream of blood coming out of the end. Yukiyo noticed a gleam of metal nearby but winced away as he glimpsed a small girl with her throat slit.

"Who the hell are you?!"

Yukiyo looked up to see the back of the source of his frustration standing between him and his would-be killer. The serial killer clutched his shoulder as blood flowed out of the stump that was formerly the man's left arm. He didn't need to see the Fallen's face to tell that he was furious.

"Did those greedy bastards go so far as to hire someone such as yourself?" Baraqiel asked, tone laced with venom and spite. "Tell this to your _masters,_ if this boy, or my daughter, come to _any_ harm due to them. Then they will lose _more_ than just an arm." Suddenly, Yukiyo felt as if he had been impaled.

The serial killer's eyes were wide, and justifiably so. Yukiyo felt as though death itself were surrounding the Cadre. He was frozen, it felt as though a hundred, no, a _thousand_ blades were held against his skin, and even the slightest _twitch_ would kill him. His mouth dried and he couldn't even swallow his own saliva. Was this…killer intent?

The serial killer took several steps back, before he sprinted away. No doubt to escape the roaring _waves_ of death that was Baraqiel.

"Are you unharmed, little avenger?"

Yukiyo barely mustered the strength to look up at him, he shuddered, the feeling of thousands of blades readying to pierce his skin was still slightly present. He looked up at Baraqiel, barely managing to meet those violet orbs. He shuddered again before schooling his expression, managing to meet his gaze while wanting nothing else but to look away.

"Teach me." Was all he said, Baraqiel raised an eyebrow before smirking.

"You still want to fight, even though you've witnessed the risk of death?" Yukiyo nodded, "Why?"

It wasn't a refusal, merely an inquiry. To be honest, Yukiyo wasn't entirely sure why himself. He wasn't sure if it were to protect Shuri and Akeno, or to avenge the death of his mother.

Yukiyo looked down and pondered it for several seconds before pushing himself to his feet. "There is something, must do, put past to rest."

Baraqiel's smirk faded, recognizing the look in the little avenger's eyes. "Hate is a double-edged sword, little avenger. It will grant you strength and resolve, but it can also force you to forget what truly matters. If you truly want to become strong, then you must promise not only to me, but to those that you hope to avenge that you'll never lose yourself to your hate."

Yukiyo looked down again, bangs shadowing his forest green eyes. Before he looked up, eyes comparable to steel of the sharpest sword. He nodded, confirming his promise.

"Yuki-kun!"

Yukiyo groaned, Baraqiel smirked; the figure of one Himejima Akeno ran around the corner, before throwing herself and latching onto Yukiyo. "I was so worried! Tou-chan said you left because you were angry! I thought that the mean people would hurt you!"

Yukiyo raised an eyebrow, "Mean people?"

Akeno nodded, "Tou-chan and Kaa-chan say that the mean people will hurt me and Yuki-kun if we go out by ourselves! I thought the mean people would hurt you when Kaa-chan said you left!"

Yukiyo's eyes widened when he felt wetness on his shirt, Akeno was crying? Was she really that worried? Yukiyo didn't truly know how to react, so he wrapped his arms around her and began stroking her back. This was something that his mother used to do with him when he was upset.

He looked up at Baraqiel who was standing in front of them with a small smile, as if to encourage Yukiyo to continue his ministrations.

 _Flashback end._

It had been a few days after that when Baraqiel had started teaching him how to fight, Akeno had found out about it and demanded to join. Yukiyo didn't see a problem, but it took a lot of convincing to get Baraqiel to finally accept.

It turned out that magic was a lot more complicated than the DxD universe had let on. In fact, it was a lot like a combination of the Magic system from Fairy Tale and the Magecraft system from Fate/Stay Night. Yukiyo didn't understand it fully, but Baraqiel described it as "utilizing the flow of one's internal world", Shuri later clarified by explaining that mages used their spiritual energy, better known as prana and channeled it down a set number of magic circuits, which was like a spiritual nervous system to channel and control that prana. Prana, as a spiritual force, needed to be externalized and this was possible through four "vents" on the body, two on the wrists, and two on the ankles.

Yukiyo had an abundant amount of magic circuits for a human, 54 circuits specifically, and Akeno had easily double that amount, sitting at 108 circuits. Yukiyo attributed it to being the fact that Akeno's mother was an Onmiyoji and her father was a Cadre class Fallen Angel. Each person also wielded an "Elemental affinity", a concept which often gave them strength in casting a certain field of magic.

There were commonly four elements, fire, water, wind, and earth. But there were combinations of certain elements, such as Baraqiel's and Akeno's elemental affinity, lightning, a combination of the fire and wind elements. There were also various other concepts as elements, such as "obliteration".

At any rate, the process of casting spells functioned by externalizing Prana through the vents located on the wrists The individuals then altered the prana via an incantation unique to the spell that they wanted to cast which stabilized and changed it to suit the mental requirement of the user.

For example, Yukiyo utilized the incantation " _Trace on_ " when spellcasting, as it was an aria that allowed him to perform his spells to the best of his ability. Plus he felt a strange attachment to those words. For phantasmal species, this process differed, as they constantly emitted and produced Prana and were capable of channeling and moulding it to suit their needs on an instinctive level, this allowed the to alter prana to create spells according to their own imaginations. Often times, they utilized incantations to strengthen a spell, such as Rias shouting "Extinguish Star!" Or Akeno with "Thunder! Resound!" Different schools of spellcasting also required different amounts of prana and it was required to channel Prana into physical objects to perform certain spells. These most often being teleportation and summoning circles used by devils, but they can also be transmutation circles utilized by Alchemists or paper talismans used by onmiyoji. There were also cases of people forgoing an aria for spells that they'd used for quite a long time and as such know how to mold the prana through sheer experience. There were also spells that could only be activated through use of an aria.

Yukiyo sighed when he remembered the first time he tried to use an elemental spell. It hadn't worked, not at all.

Shuri had been trying to teach him how to use onmiyojutsu by using paper talismans as mediums to generate fire. When that failed, he was given wind ones, earth ones after that, and finally, water ones. None of them worked, he couldn't produce a spark, breeze, pebble, or drop with the talismans. Shuri later revealed that she was aware of western magics when she taught him how to perform an elementally neutral spell, reinforcement. That was probably the only thing he was good at.

When it was discovered that Yukiyo couldn't use elemental spells at all, Baraqiel had taken to teaching him more traditional ways of fighting, i.e. swordsmanship. He was improving, but he still couldn't land a hit on Baraqiel

Shuri however, had delved deeper into western magics and discovered another spell called Gradation Air, the process of making something out of thin air. Yukiyo nearly laughed when he discovered he was no good at that technique either. Everything he tried to make was hollow and lacked any _real_ sustenance.

Since then he'd dedicated most of his time to practicing reinforcement. While he wasn't the _greatest_ ,it was at least a spell he could use as opposed to his hollow projections. But it had been a long road, even with his 54 circuits and _insane_ reserves of prana, he was considered a third-rate magician at best. This was mostly due to a lack of sleep with his dreams about swor-.

Yukiyo's thoughts stopped as realization dawned on him, inability to perform elemental magic, proficiency in reinforcement, ability to use gradation air, and dreams about _swords_. He swung his feet off the side of his bed and pushed himself off. Walking over to the far side of the room as not to disturb Akeno.

He sat down, legs crossed, both hands held in front of him, palms facing down. The image of a gun appeared in his mind, his finger itching for the trigger. Alongside that, an image of a pair of black and white blades appeared in his mind. Eyes closed, he breathed, and pulled the trigger.

" _Trace, on._ "

Prana flowed down his 54 circuits like a waterfall. It pooled and warped in his open palms. The prana began to solidify for a brief instant before it warped and fluctuated taking random shapes and movements. Yukiyo clenched his teeth as he tried to solidify what prana he could; eyes shut tighter as light began to build up around him. Words came to his mind without warning and flowed involuntarily out of his mouth.

" _ **I am the bone of my sword.**_ "

Instantly the prana in his hands solidified and took shape. It made a pair of chinese falchions that appeared exactly the same save for coloration, the one in his left was black, with a faint red hexagonal pattern running along its length. The one in his right hand was purely white.

Yukiyo panted, that projection had taken a lot out of him, even for his massive reserves. Maybe he overdid it with the amount of prana he used.

"Yuki-kun?"

Yukiyo turned around and met Akeno's wide eyes, he smirked. "Looks like I've discovered my calling, eh Akeno?"

 **-XXXX-**

Yukiyo smirked as he walked alongside Akeno, his hands in his pockets as they moved through the park. It had been six months since he discovered his true abilities. He'd been improving in swordsmanship ever since then. Except this day was special beyond belief.

He had done it; he had managed to land a hit on Baraqiel.

To celebrate, Akeno had convinced Shuri to get ice cream from a convenience store nearby. Akeno likely wanted to use it as an excuse to eat ice cream; he on the other hand was truly starting to improve. Not to mention he finally figured out how to reinforce his body to improve its physical capabilities.

He'd also figured out how much prana it required to trace weapons, it commonly increased when the weapon was more famous, he could also trace any bladed weapon he'd seen both in this life, and his previous one. With weapons like Caliburn requiring a _lot_ of prana, and Kanshou and Bakuya requiring less, as they were lesser-known weapons.

All of that aside, it was mainly due to bodily reinforcement and use of Archer's "suicidal" fighting style of leaving deliberate openings to take out opponents stronger than him. It took Baraqiel only a few seconds to discover, but the effect had been present. He _finally_ managed to hit the man, after two years and eight months of blood sweat and tears.

Yukiyo was jolted from his thoughts from a strange noise, it sounded like a scream, one that Yukiyo responded to. He turned, eyes locking onto a blue-eyed young girl with bright silver hair being dragged into an alleyway a knifepoint.

He could hear several voices from the busy streets to call the police, but Yukiyo tuned all of that out. The girl...she looked a lot like… No that was impossible, this was an entirely different world after all. Then again, it didn't matter who she resembled, all that mattered was that she was in danger, and he wouldn't turn a blind eye to that.

He reinforced his body and charged, intent on saving the young girl. He heard Akeno scream his name, but that didn't matter right now. He sprinted down the alleyway and came face to face with a man, his hair was dyed blond, and he wore an open jacket with torn jeans. The girl he was holding had silver hair and already had slight nicks from the knife.

Yukiyo scowled as the man took notice of him.

"Well, what do we have here, a little boy trying to play hero eh? Too bad that heroes always arrive too late!"

" _TRACE ON!_ "

Yukiyo reinforced his body to the limit and charged, Kanshou and Bakuya shimmering into his hands. He was moving quickly, but it was abundantly clear that he wouldn't make it. Yukiyo clenched his teeth and in a split second, hurled Kanshou directly at the man. Yukiyo's eyes widened when the blade sank directly into the man's chest. The man's eyes were wide as he let go of the girl and stumbled back. Blood had splattered against the girl he'd been trying to save. Yukiyo fell to his knees, despite witnessing a corpse and a severed arm; he had never done something like this.

 _He killed him_.

Kanshou and Bakuya faded as his mind flashed back to the glimpses of death he'd seen from the serial killer's dagger so long ago. His breathing picked up in pace as he stared down at his hands. It looked like they were covered, stained with a red ink he could never wash out.

His pupils dilated as he began to hyperventilate. Green eyes shimmering as tears leaked from the corners of his eyes.

 _He killed him._

It repeated over and over in his head like a mantra, _he killed him_ , he could see the lifelessness in the man's eyes as he fell to the earth, _he killed him._ The cold feeling in his chest began to spread as tears fell onto his hands.

 _He killed him,He killed him,He killed him,He killed him,He killed him,He killed him,HEKILLEDHIMHEKILLEDHIMHEKILLEDHIMHE KILLEDHIMHEKILLEDHIM._

Yukiyo's eyes widened when he felt a gentle pair of arms wrap around him. He looked up to see Shuri, her eyes sad and sympathetic, yet she said nothing. Merely holding him tighter as he collapsed, sobbing into her shoulder.

 **-XXXX-**

Yukiyo stared at his ceiling, thoughts scattered, but he knew that this wouldn't be the last time he'd kill something, it was something he'd accepted. But he didn't think that it'd be...like that.

He looked to the side at hearing his door open. Baraqiel walked in, standing at the bedside where he rested. Yukiyo looked up again with blank eyes.

"Does it get any easier?"

Baraqiel didn't ask what he meant, already knowing. And the answer he gave made sadness grip his throat.

"No." Baraqiel said, it was a short blunt answer before he continued, "The burden of taking a life will forever rest on your consciousness, eating away at you until you inevitably lose yourself to insanity."

Yukiyo closed his eyes as he thought it over, could he really commit to that, to kill? Could he take a life, knowing that he would lose himself later on?

"That is…" Yukiyo looked over to Baraqiel again, "If you let it." Yukiyo was confused, and it probably showed on his face as Baraqiel continued. "Taking a life is never easy, it will always haunt you, the burden will always be present, but it's not one that you must bear alone I do not know who you lost, little avenger, but you have a family, you have Akeno, Shuri and myself. This is one burden that you won't share alone." Baraqiel smiled before ruffling his hair, "Now get some rest, Akeno can't eat all the ice cream alone." Baraqiel stood, turned and began to leave the room, "Oh, and one more thing." Yukiyo looked at Baraqiel just before he left, "While it is true that you took a life this day, take solace in the fact that you saved one."

Yukiyo nodded before looking up at his ceiling again, he raised a hand out before channeling prana down his circuits and tracing Bakuya. The white sword reflected the light. Yukiyo's eyes narrowed as his grip on his sword tightened. It was at this moment that he would promise. He'd never lose himself to the lives he'd taken or the deaths of those he lost. He would never lose himself and he'd become strong enough, not only to avenge the death of his mother, but to protect the family that he'd gained in the process.

Yukiyo smiled before dismissing Bakuya and getting off his bed, getting stronger was fun and all, but that didn't mean that he lost his sweet tooth.

 **AN: So a bit of a darker chapter compared to the last one, and another one that was centered mostly around backstory. Canon won't start for the next few chapters. Also, this story will be a much more realistic view of DxD and death, did anyone else think that it was partial bullshit that Issei was traumatized into being scared of women, but he wasn't traumatized** _ **at all**_ **at the fact that Rias killed people with such little regard.**

 **Also, the girl that Yukiyo saved will reappear. And trust me, she's** _ **much more**_ **than she seems.**

 **EDIT: So I ran through this chapter and put more detail into the magical system. Hopefully this explains what I've been trying to get across. Baraqiel's wording of "utilizing the flow of one's internal world" will be explained later on. Also made a few grammar corrections.**

 **Please leave a Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, like what you liked and what you think I could improve on. If you like this story than be sure to follow it so that you know when new chapters are going to be released. And if you like it quite a lot then please favorite it, it would mean a lot to know that my readers actually like the story.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD I only own my OC**

Yukiyo scowled as he dodged another bolt of lightning. He reinforced his eyes and glanced around, looking for any sign of his opponent. Hastily tracing a black bow, he sprinted forward, intent on dodging until he located her.

He spun at sensing the spike of magical energy and pulled back on his bow, an arrow already traced and ready to fire. With zero hesitation he loosed it, the projectile sailed into the trees and passed the bolt of lightning that was sent at him.

Yukiyo dodged again and barely glimpsed his target jumping from tree to tree. He smirked, tracing another arrow and pulling it back on his bow.

' _Gotcha.'_

The arrow loosed and Yukiyo's eyes widened before they narrowed in frustration as his target sprouted a pair of black feathered wings and dodged the arrow.

"Oh come on!" He muttered, he could see his target smirk before she took off, flying through the air. Yukiyo scowled, ordinarily he'd trace Hrunting and this duel would be over. But he couldn't trace any sort of Noble Phantasm at the moment as that would kill his target. Hence the reason why he was only using nameless arrows in place of more destructive or tracking-based ones, such as Caladbolg and Hrunting. But that didn't make it any less frustrating, as whenever he got a read on her, she'd always sprout those wings and soar away.

Yukiyo barely had enough time to dismiss the bow before he saw his target swing around and fire a bolt of lightning directly at his face. He rolled sideways and traced a nameless dagger, throwing it at his target in an attempt to at least restrict her to the ground.

It was proven futile as she merely moved her body to the side, Yukiyo smirked however as she had _finally_ taken the bait. With blinding speed he traced his bow and pulled back, tracing an arrow simultaneously. He locked eyes with her just as she realized his ploy. He loosed the arrow and it collided directly into his target's stomach. She lurched forward and fell to the ground, before she stood up. The arrow falling harmlessly to the ground.

"That was a cheap shot!" His target screamed, no doubt frustrated that the ten year old boy in front of her managed to beat her without any sort of Noble Phantasm.

"No such thing as cheap shots in a fight, Akeno." Yukiyo said, smirk still present.

It had been three years since Yukiyo had taken his first kill. Ever since then, Baraqiel had upped their training, using spars such as this one where the purpose was to land a blow on the other. In terms of victories, they were tied and it was undetermined who would win. Often Akeno would win due to her superior magical abilities, or Yukiyo would win with superior tactics and strategy.

Akeno pouted before her father flew in, wings folded behind him. "He's right you know, Akeno." Baraqiel turned his stern gaze on his daughter, "In real battles, there are no rules, only skill, and strategy." Akeno pouted further, "There's more to battle than merely throwing magic at the enemy, if you truly want to win, you need to have an effective strategy in place. For example, Yukiyo used the dagger as a distraction and prepared an arrow in the moment of reprieve." Akeno reluctantly nodded, coming to that conclusion herself, "You need to learn how to use that power of yours effectively, you were born with a lot, but no matter how much power you have, it's useless if you don't have the skill to use it."

Akeno nodded, her pout fading before she turned to her little brother figure with a determined expression on her face, "Next time, I'll win for sure, Yukiyo."

The pre-teen smirked in response, "Dream on, kiddo."

Akeno scowled, "You're younger than me!"

"Only in months."

"What does that mean?!"

"I'm more mature than you."

Baraqiel smiled at the display in front of him, it was like the two were bickering siblings. They had grown extremely close, to the point where he was considering on adopting the green-eyed boy. That would've been outrage among Shuri's clan, but then again, since when did they dictate what decisions Baraqiel made? He loved Shuri, and they'd come to view the boy that had sprung into their lives as a son.

"Why don't we settle it the old fashioned way?" Akeno asked, fury swirling in her eyes as several bolts of lightning surrounded her arms and light spears appeared behind her.

"I'm game, just don't start crying when you lose." Prana swirled around Yukiyo as dozens of nameless blades appeared behind him.

Baraqiel sighed, before flaring his own magical power and both of them backed down. The only difficulty he had with their arguments was when it got out of hand, the last time they'd had such an argument, they'd interrupted him and Shuri in their...personal time. Yukiyo had been immensely shaken and Akeno's memories had been modified. After that incident, the couple had been _certain_ to ward their room in case one of their arguments had become much more... _physical_.

"We should be heading back." Yukiyo said, his japanese having improved beyond single word phrases over the years.

"Y-Yeah…" Akeno muttered, still shaken up from exposure to Baraqiel's magical energy.

Baraqiel merely nodded in response before casting a simple teleportation circle beneath them. The trio instantly reappeared in the Himejima household, with Shuri cooking breakfast.

"Ara, back already? I anticipated you'd be gone for longer." She said from her place in the kitchen.

Yukiyo shrugged, "Tracking took shorter this time." Akeno gained a noticeable pout at Yukiyo's wording, which he merely smirked at.

"Well then, why don't you two go bathe while I finish making breakfast."

Yukiyo's smirk faded and Akeno's pout melted into her own smirk. He sighed before resigning himself to his fate and trailing behind Akeno to the hellhole that was the bathroom.

 **-XXXX-**

Yukiyo's cheeks were bright red as Akeno's hands moved down his back, she took her time, using slow deliberate movements to purposely get a reaction out of him. Despite being _ten_ Akeno was a _massive_ pervert _already_. He couldn't imagine what she'd be like in _canon_ if this was what she was like _before_ that.

"How's the bath, Yu~ki~kun?"

He clenched his teeth and barely managed to restrain himself from growling. While his blush may be visible he wouldn't give Akeno anything else to tease him with. _Especially_ if it was going to bite him in the ass later on.

"It's fine, Akeno."

He could see Akeno's smirk in the corner of his eye despite his restrained answer. His blush brightened and eyes went wide as Akeno leaned closer, pressing her… Assets directly into his back. She was this big already? Honestly, how large was she going to be when she was actually _mature_? Considering he could easily feel her through the towel she wore, it was safe to say that she was going to be _very_ large.

" _Just fine?_ " He had to suppress a shudder at her sensual tone, "Are you sure that you aren't, _enjoying_ anything?"

Okay, now it was easy to see Akeno becoming a sadist, maybe it had something to do with being a fallen angel, he wouldn't know, after all, he's a human.

"Akeno, Yukiyo!" He was sending a silent thank you to the currently dead god for having Shuri finish breakfast at that moment. "You two finish up! Breakfast is ready!"

Yukiyo had to keep himself from sighing in relief, while Akeno gave a not-so-subtle sigh of disappointment. He stood up and moved to the entryway, toweling off and pulling on his clothes, Akeno followed in behind him, he turned and exited before she removed her towel. It was likely that she wouldn't care that he saw her, but he was a man. Well, a man inside the body of a ten year old.

He brushed a stray white bang out of his eyes, his hair had grown longer over the years, becoming slightly spikier and the bangs had reached into his eyes. The back reached down slightly past his neck, which he commonly kept in a low ponytail. If he had to compare it, he'd say his hair had become reminiscent of Ichigo Kurosaki's hair _after_ he gained the Final Getsuga Tensho.

He gave Shuri and Baraqiel a lazy wave before scowling at the smirk the man was sporting. No doubt this was revenge for all the times that Yukiyo had smirked at Baraqiel whenever Shuri had gotten frustrated with him.

The boy sighed before sitting down at the table across from his adoptive mother. Akeno following in soon afterwards he sent her a sideways scowl and she sent him a smirk. Shuri noticed this and smiled, they truly had become close after five years. Yukiyo had also become much more open as his vocabulary in japanese had increased to the point where he was almost fluent.

"Itadakimasu."

The pseudo family began dishing up plates and eating the breakfast food that Shuri had oh-so deliciously prepared for them. Yukiyo had never truly eaten traditional Japanese food outside sushi in his previous life, but now that he was sitting at this table, Shuri had set the bar high with her cooking. Especially since he was unaccustomed to Japanese styled food.

He smiled as he placed another bunch of rice into his mouth but froze halfway through when Baraqiel spoke up. "Everyone, I want to let you all know that I'm going away for a little while, Yukiyo, Akeno, I expect the both of you to make sure you stay in practice. Complacency is the enemy of progress."

Akeno nodded, Yukiyo followed, albeit robotically. He tuned out the rest of conversation as his thoughts took him. He placed the clump of rice in his mouth as his mind began to whirl with thoughts of creating defenses to detect or maybe ward off attackers. He wasn't sure if Shuri was going to be vulnerable while Baraqiel was gone, but he wasn't going to take any chances, he would protect his family. Period.

"Yukiyo?" He looked up to meet Shuri's eyes, which were filled with concern. "Are you alright? You've barely eaten anything."

He gave her a reassuring smile, "I'm fine, thanks for the concern."

In truth, he wasn't fine, he was worried, the main reason why the Himejima Clan hadn't attacked was because of Baraqiel. And with him out of the picture, then it was likely that the clan would become bolder. They hadn't attacked since the time he was held hostage by that serial killer, but that didn't mean they'd given up. If anything, it was likely that they had just gotten angrier at the fact that Shuri had taken in a five year old boy right off the streets.

Yukiyo's grip on his chopsticks tightened as he continued to shovel rice into his mouth. A scowl etching itself onto his face as he continued to think of wards and countermeasures. He was so engrossed that he didn't notice Akeno's look of concern next to him. She had taken notice of the scowl that he was now sporting. He said he was fine, but was he really? There were only a few times that she's seen him with that scowl, and they were usually when he was thinking about his mother.

She continued to look, to think about how she could remove that scowl from his face and get him to smile, a real one. Not the fake, reassuring ones that he sent to her and her parents when they were worried about him. But a real one, one that was a sign that he was truly happy. She wanted to see it, to see the real smile. That was why she was becoming strong, to protect him. To see him smile. And yet, it seemed like it'd be years before she saw it.

 **-XXXX-**

Yukiyo triple checked the ward, ensuring that it was in proper working order and that the traps in place would respond once triggered.

It was a rather simple ward, yet one he was proud of nonetheless. It used the simple design of a trap ward that was triggered when intruders entered, but it was modified to only trigger when someone with malicious intent to the household entered. He would be alerted to the trigger by the sound of a small bell that only he could hear.

He sighed before checking the traps, several nameless swords rigged to launch at a moment's notice. Any assassin that was sent in here would be skewered before they could blink.

He nodded to himself when he found nothing wrong with the ward or the traps, and moved past the entryway and checked the rest of the area, intent on ensuring that any entrance was guarded, including windows.

He nodded and moved to his bedroom and climbed into bed, lying down and trying to sleep. But the anxiety of losing Shuri was keeping him awake. He was certain that he'd guarded the place enough with wards, and while wards weren't as effective as bounded fields, this was the best he could accomplish. And yet still, he couldn't help but feel…

Like he was missing something.

He felt as though there were a small voice in his head that was telling him that he didn't do enough. That he forgot something, something important.

He must've drifted off at some point, because the next thing he knew, he was being shaken awake by Akeno, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Yukiyo! Yukiyo! Wake up!"

He blinked a few times before he noticed a distinct scent, smoke. His eyes widened before he grabbed Akeno's hands, helping her stop shaking him.

"Kaa-chan! She's caught! The house collapsed! We need to save her!"

Yukiyo said nothing, only reinforcing his body and leaping from his bed, carrying Akeno to Shuri's room. His eyes widened when he saw a large amount of smoldering debris on top of Shuri. Her lower half was completely crushed by the debris. He didn't hesitate, his eyes narrow as he pushed as much prana into his circuits as possible, they burned, but it didn't matter, Shuri was going to die. He needed to save her.

He set Akeno down and shoveled away tearing at the smoldering ruin that was once Baraqiel's and Himejima Shuri's room. His teeth clenched as he continued to rip away, but it was clear that he wouldn't make it, Shuri would die before he got her out.

He snarled before tracing a pair of nameless blades in his hands. His arms swung, slicing and cutting the charred wood and plaster until it was a large enough opening for Akeno to pull Shuri free. He quickly stopped and draped Shuri's right arm over his shoulder, Akeno taking the other. The two sprinted out out the house just as the rest collapsed, followed by Yukiyo. His circuits and body were exhausted, it was doubtful that he would be able to Trace any remotely strong Noble Phantasms. He could probably only Trace C- rank and anything C or above would probably damage his circuits beyond repair.

He panted so heavily that he didn't notice Akeno's face drain of color. He was so exhausted that he barely heard Shuri tell him to run and never look back. When he finally looked up, it was to the face of a black haired man, brown eyes narrow in disgust. Behind him were several, around twenty, individuals whose faces were concealed by white cloths that resembled ones worn by the Kido corps in Bleach.

"Akeno." The man spoke, "For the crimes and treachery of your father, and the insult of seducing Himejima Shuri, we hereby sentence you to death."

Akeno's eyes widened and Yukiyo felt anger surge through him faster than any arrow he could shoot. The individuals that were standing behind the man moved forward, preparing several paper talismans as they walked.

Yukiyo set down Shuri's arm before standing up and moving, Akeno opened her mouth to protest but anything she was about to say died in her throat when she saw the look in Yukiyo's eyes.

It was one of cold resolve, blended with a fiery fury.

"Let me get this straight." He spoke, his voice low and warning, "You'd kill an innocent child, only because you're too scared to go after the one you're really angry at?"

The man snorted, "Innocent? She is hardly innocent, she is an insult, an affront to our clan for being born. All curses such as this one will be eradicated from the Himejima clan and forgotten."

Yukiyo's eyes sharpened, and instantly the various individuals present felt as though a thousand blades were pressed against every vital point on their bodies. The man's eyes widened, even flinched, when he noticed the sheer amount killer intent oozing from the boy in front of him.

"Wrong answer, _Trace on._ "

A familiar pair of black and white falchions appeared in Yukiyo's hands, but he didn't stop with just tracing them. He continued to pour prana into Kanshou and Bakuya until they lengthened and splintered. The former short swords had become more reminiscent to a large pair of black and white feathered wings. Yukiyo reinforced his body and charged.

And a storm appeared in the yard.

Akeno's eyes were wide at the display of sheer brutality from her younger brother figure. He had become akin to a tornado, spinning and slicing at the attackers surrounding him, every swing separated a torso from their legs, every thrust pierced a chest or a throat. They barely had time to prepare a talisman, and when they did, it was cut to shreds before they could use them.

Soon, the twenty onmyoji that the man came with were dead, and the only one that remained was the man who threatened Akeno. His expression was now one of calm neutrality while he eyed the winglike blades that Yukiyo's favorite swords had become.

"Gan Jiang and Mo Ye." He spoke, Yukiyo's eyes widening. "The twin swords of Yin and Yang forged by the master blacksmith Gan Jiang, using the fires of the soul of his wife, Mo Ye."

Yukiyo's expression turned back to the calm, yet furious scowl that it was before. "Do you expect me to spare you just because you know about my swords?"

"On the contrary," the man spoke again, "I've come to despise the form that you've made such beautiful blades." The man retrieved a series of talismans from his longcoat and held them in each of his fingers. "It is for the insult of creating such monstrosities that you will perish here."

Yukiyo's eyes narrowed as each of the talismans caught fire and they were sent outward, flying in strange angles and odd patterns. His eyes narrowed, and closed as he raised the overedge forms of Kanshou and Bakuya. He slowed his breathing, focusing only on the presence of the onmyoji in front of him and the paper bullets speeding around him. His heartbeat slowed to the point where it nearly stopped, mind sharpening to the point where it could cut stone. Teeth clenched, grip tightened. The presence shifted and he swung, before following eight more times.

He opened his eyes and smirked, each of the talismans that the onmyoji sent out was laying at his feet, cut cleanly in half.

A spike of power surged next to him and an unseen talisman shot out to his side akin to the speed of a bullet. Yukiyo felt surprise run through him when he realized,

It was heading straight for Akeno's heart.

He instantly spun around and prepared to launch himself directly at his best friend in her defense. As it turns out, he didn't need to.

His mother figure had already taken the blow.

Yukiyo's eyes were wide as he saw Shuri's blood gush from her chest, a single talisman implanted where her heart was. Akeno screamed, tears were streaming down her face as she shook Shuri's corpse, begging the woman to wake up, not to leave her.

"A shame. I'd hoped that once we'd killed Akeno, we could've taken her back with us. A little brainwashing would've had her re-joining the clan and forgetting anything that occurred here."

Yukiyo felt something familiar surge within him as the man behind him spoke. It was dark, powerful, and _very_ enticing. His heart beat faster and every thought faded into the background. Suddenly, they weren't in the Himejima courtyard, they were in the living room in his old home. Akeno was gone, Shuri was gone, everyone was gone. All that remained in front of him,

Was the corpse of his mother.

His grip tightened on the hilts of his traced blades. His jaw clenched and pupils dilated. The landscape faded and he was back in the Himejima courtyard, Akeno crying with her dead mother in her arms.

He turned, only to see that there were easily over a hundred onmyoji standing behind the man that killed Shuri. That didn't matter, it didn't matter, it didn't matter if there were a hundred or a thousand onmyoji. None of them, would leave in one piece.

" _ **I am the bone of my sword.**_ "

 **AN: End it right where you wanna see it most. I'm an asshole I know.**

 **So, in this chapter, we got a closer glimpse in Akeno's and Yukiyo's relationship. There wasn't a lot of conflict in this chapter except for the very end, sorry not sorry. There** _ **will**_ **be fights, and canon will come eventually. I only ask for patience.**

 **Please leave a Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, like what you liked and what you think I could improve on. If you like this story than be sure to follow it so that you know when new chapters are going to be released. And if you like it quite a lot then please favorite it, it would mean a lot to know that my readers actually like the story.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, I only own my OC.**

 **Warning: chapter contains nudity and implied torture.**

Akeno sighed as she walked down the streets of a town whose name escaped her, something along the lines of Kamakura. She shook her head and continued to focus on making it back to their apartment. The bag of groceries in her hands swung slightly as she thought of their circumstances.

It had been months since the attack on their home, months since the massacre of so many onmyoji, months since the death of her mother.

Her grip tightened on the bag as she thought of that ungodly night. Her breath became shallow and her heartbeat quickened as she remembered them. The screams and begs for mercy falling on deaf ears as a rain of steel came from the heavens. Blood stained the ground as the wind raged around her, filled with bloodlust and hatred. The few spells that were accomplished were blocked with a shimmering pink flower. Rendered useless by the defense. It took every ounce of restraint in her body to keep herself from shuddering in the memory of her little brother figure's eyes.

They were blank; empty. There wasn't any rage, any sorrow, nothing. Only the cold desire to inflict pain rested in those emerald orbs. It was so unlike the Yukiyo that she'd known beforehand. Whether it be training or eating meals, Yukiyo's eyes always held some type of emotion in them. Ranging from cocksure mirth to reassuring concern. That was the first time she'd seen Yukiyo act so…distant. Like he wasn't really fighting the onmyoji that killed her mother.

It scared her, yet it also excited her.

She didn't know why, but a small part of her was strangely excited from the sight of Yukiyo's empty orbs. She forced down another shudder as that part of her began to whisper dark feelings. She couldn't explain it, but she wanted to see those cold eyes again, she wanted him to look at her with those eyes that want nothing more than to inflict pain. It was almost akin to the feeling she got when they bathed together. Her skin got strangely warm, and it felt...nice when he washed her back.

She had no idea why she felt like this. When she'd asked her mother, she merely told her that it was a part of herself. When she asked her father, he'd look really funny and say that he'd tell her when she was older.

Akeno scowled when she thought of her father, or should she even call him that? It was true, he'd left them in their time of greatest need, and her mother was dead because of it. Her grip on the bag tightened and her nails threatened to draw blood from piercing her palms. She clenched her teeth, and yet that did nothing to stem the rage that flowed through her.

Her thoughts of her father's abandonment however were interrupted by a scream.

Akeno's head snapped in the direction, her body radiating apprehension. The scream she'd heard was a feminine one, that either meant it was genuine. Or it was faked to draw attention. Akeno's thoughts were interrupted when another ripped through the air. Her hands clenched before her feet moved of their own accord, sprinting off in the direction of the scream.

When she arrived it was to a less than pleasant sight. A young auburn haired girl was pressed against the wall of an alley, a brown haired man wearing a blue suit was laying in front of her, blood pooling beneath him from his wounds. The auburn haired girl was wearing a pair of snow clip hairpins and wore a standard middle school uniform. Looming over her was a lanky man whose lower appearance resembled a twisted insect, a pair of serrated gleaming blades jutted out from his elbows as he leered over the young girl.

"Well, now, looks like your precious onii-chan won't be able to help you anymore, eh little girl?" Akeno felt her hands tighten as the beast continued to speak, "You've got quite the amount of prana…maybe you'll fill me up more than your brother will, eh?"

Akeno slowly set the grocery bag next to her and raised her hands a single bolt of lightning shocking the monster into oblivion. The shriek it gave was reminiscent of a child running their nails down a chalkboard.

Akeno frowned in disgust as the burnt corpse of the monster fell to the ground, giving a very less-than pleasant stench. She ignored the smell and turned to the little girl. Now that she wasn't in any danger, Akeno could now get a better look, her eyes were gray and tear-filled with fear. Understandable, considering she was attacked and saved in the same day by things she didn't understand. To be honest; the girl didn't look that much older than her.

Akeno slowly started forward, and the girl attempted to scurry away, but only found herself pressed against the wall of the alley, the girl trembled as the tears that she'd been holding in began to spill down her cheeks. Akeno smiled gently and raised her hands, stepping around the corpse of the monster.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl still looked fearful, but had thankfully stopped shaking. Then her eyes were wide again and she yelled,

"Onee-chan, look out!"

Thanks to her warning, Akeno managed to roll forward, but she still suffered a shallow cut to her back, tearing at her shirt. Akeno quickly leapt to her feet and spun around to see the monster had now stood up again, his wounds still present, but he was largely ignoring them.

"Nice try, witch." The monster sneered, his mouth filled with rows of razor-sharp yellow fangs. "But it's going to take more than that to kill me! I was a reincarnated [Queen] after all before I killed my master!"

Realization dawned in her eyes when she realized that she was dealing with a Stray Devil. A Stray devil was a reincarnated Devil that killed their master and lost their sanity from their raging Demonic Power. That was what often resulted in their hideous appearnaces, such as the man in front of her, who was a [Queen] before he killed his [King].

Akeno's face-hardened as she realized that magic wasn't going to be as effective against this opponent. Despite losing control of his Demonic Power, that didn't mean that he'd lost any of his abilities as a [Queen], the likes of whom boasted high magic resistance, and it was likely due to the fact that he held absolutely no control over his power that his resistance to magic was even higher than before.

"Well, little witch, are you going to keep trying to fight and protect those people behind you?" The Stray asked, his mouth was once again twisted into a vicious smirk. "Because I'm willing to let you go if you hand them over, after all, I'm barely holding back myself from eating you here."

Akeno responded with another bolt of lightning and the Stray's smirk only grew. "That's good, after all, it's soooo much more fun if the prey struggles before they're eaten."

Akeno's face slipped into a scowl as the stray charged and she shot several lighting bolts towards the rapidly approaching monster. Her teeth clenched when he merely charged through them, his body gaining burns, but he ignored them. She rapidly glanced around and cursed silently for choosing to fight in such an enclosed space. If only there was a way to get the monster in a more open area, then she could… Her eyes widened when she looked back and cursed her own idiocy. In her observation of the battlefield, the monster had managed to get in striking range. She clenched her teeth before jumping back and barely managing to avoid the serrated blade that would've sliced her in half.

Her eyes narrowed as she erected a barrier in front of her to stop the other blade from reaching her. She clenched her jaw in frustration when the barrier cracked and threatened to split in half. It was likely that it would break with another strike.

Akeno growled as she glanced around for some kind of weapon to use. If she didn't find one, it was likely that she'd die and the girl would shortly thereafter. Realization then struck her as she grabbed the girl behind her, threw her onto her back, and unfurled her wings. The stray devil in front of her gave a hungry growl at the sight of the raven feathers that fell from her wings.

"Ahhh A Fallen? Well then, this'll be even more satisfying, especially if I eat one of your filthy kind." The man spoke as his grin became perverse; she shuddered, but pushed disgust out of her thoughts. With a powerful flap she took off from the ground, soaring up to try to get out of the alleyway. Her eyes narrowed in determination as she heard the stray devil behind her scratch up the walls.

She smirked however, when she finally made it out of the alleyway and over the rooftops of the buildings. The Stray scrabbled up and smirked in return. His eyes glinted in triumph.

"Now then, why don't we clip those wings?"

A pair of seed-like projectiles shot out from the man's mantis-like lower half and sailed towards Akeno. Already used to projectile attacks that were much faster in nature, Akeno twisted and avoided the two attacks. Her smirk furthered as a mental lightning bolt struck her body and her circuits flared into existence. Prana poured down her arms as lightning pooled into her palms.

"Thunder! Resound!"

The monster screeched, louder than before from the combined attack of pure lightning. He fell, having lost consciousness from the pain of the strike. She slowly descended toward the monster and poked it gently with her foot, only to hear a low groan.

"Y-you bitch."

She merely smirked and raised her hand, "Any last words?"

"K-kill me."

With those words, she sent the bolt of lightning in her palm directly through the stray's head, making a rather disturbing image of the burnt interior of the face. Her smirk faded to a frown as she closed her eyes.

"Rest in peace."

 **-XXXX-**

Akeno felt a pang of sorrow enter her heart as she stared at the girl began to sob into the man's shoulders. His blue suit was stained with her tears. She failed, despite saving the girl; she failed to save the man. Maybe Yukiyo was right when he said those words to her months ago,

" _To save one is to condemn another._ "

"Onii-chan… Onii-chan!" The girl cried, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Akeno closed her eyes, giving a silent prayer for the now deceased man. Both were so focused in their mourning that they didn't notice the snowflake hairpins the girl wore begin to glow a light green color.

"Onii-chan… Please don't leave me, if you do I'll be all alone." The girl sobbed as the glow around her hairpins increased, "DON'T LEAVE ME! SORA-NIICHAN!"

The glow around the girl's hairpins brightened and surrounded the man in a shield of green light. Akeno opened her eyes and felt surprise run through her. Her gaze fell on the hairpins and instantly realization dawned on her. Those weren't ordinary hairpins; they were a Sacred Gear. The light dimmed, revealing the man to be completely unmarred. The little girl was no doubt shocked, but that shock faded when the man groaned and opened his brown eyes.

"Orihime…?"

Tears fell down the little girl's face as she hugged the man in relief. "Sora-niichan!"

The man smiled, before wrapping his arms around her and closing his eyes.

Akeno felt her heart warm up at the sight of this and couldn't stop the smile that slowly overtook her face. And yet, she couldn't help but feel envious of the little girl in front of her. It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair that this girl could save her family while she couldn't.

Akeno quickly shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts before turning around and sprinting away. Her eyes shut tightly as tears of her own fell from her eyes down her cheeks. It wasn't fair, none of it was. Why had she lost her mother? Why did her father leave them?

It wasn't fair.

 **-XXXX-**

Yukiyo at the moment was not having a good day.

It started out normal enough, going off to some family's house and fixing up whatever it was that they had broken. But these one's were stubborn so when their appliances broke, they didn't call an electrician and instead thought it was a good idea to try and fix it themselves.

That resulted in a _long_ day of work and even then the family refused to pay him a lot. It was enough to get by, but considering he fixed their boiler, stove, _and_ their chandelier, he honestly should've been paid a lot more.

While he was walking home, however, he gained a strange feeling. He was no doubt drawing several looks when he kept looking over his shoulder for the fear of being watched. At first he shrugged it off as paranoia. But then he heard a rumor of families being kidnapped from a gossiping couple. Again he brushed it off as a rumor and silently reassured himself that Akeno would be fine.

Then he noticed the man in the black hoodie.

It was a mere passing glance at first, a man leaning against the side of a building with a small smirk on his face. He had pale skin and surprisingly, white hair. His face and bright blue eyes looked rather shallow, as if he hadn't eaten for a few days. Yukiyo brushed him off and continued walking, until he made eye contact with the same man. This time the man beckoned to him, as if he were saying, "follow me" with a look alone and walked down the street.

It was at this point that Yukiyo's suspicion rose. Why would this man be so interested in him? Could it be that he was affiliated with the supernatural in some way? Yukiyo couldn't be sure, but he silently prepared his circuits in the case that the man actually _was_ a supernatural, and followed behind him.

The man led him down the streets in a winding pattern. Through various alleys and sidewalks, before they arrived in an area filled with various large warehouses. This instantly sent alarm bells ringing through Yukiyo's head as the man led him to a single house and opened the door, darkness reining the interior. The man stepped to the side, bowed, and he went limp. Turning to a featureless wooden mannequin. Yukiyo mentally cursed at being led so easily and prepared to leave before a distinct sound invaded his ears. His eyes widened as he heard the sound of a series of small sobs ring through the air. He hesitated before mentally cursing the tiny hero-complex in his head, and moved past the door and into the darkness of the warehouse.

The door behind him slowly creaked shut and the entire area was plunged into shadow. Yukiyo frowned and silently reinforced his eyes to take in more light than humanly possible. Even then he could barely see the silhouettes of various individuals that lined the walls. His eyes focused in when a candle lit itself in front of the silhouettes, revealing various mannequins slumped against the wall. His reinforced eyes narrowed as he turned to the left, another candle lit itself, revealing more mannequins, each of them lacking any sense of features.

All throughout this the sobs continued, they were low and feminine. The voice that cried was likely doing it for a while as it sounded worn and tired. Yukiyo quickly reinforced his ears alongside his eyes as he looked toward the sound of sobs, a candle lighting itself automatically as he did so. When he came to the sight however, it took every cell in his body not to trace Caladbolg and lay ruin to the entire warehouse district.

In front of him was a young girl; she held blonde hair and bloodshot blue eyes. Her arms and legs bound onto a cross. Her body stripped of any semblance of clothing. However, Yukiyo's eyes were drawn to the lacerations and burn marks covering her bare skin, some appeared to be from blades, while others from a whip.

"Hoh? It seems that a mouse has wandered into my laboratory _sì_?"

Yukiyo spun around and scowled, coming face to face with a man. He wore a pair of square-frame glasses that appeared to be made of bone. His eyes were a narrowed amber color and his pink hair reached his chin in length. At the moment, he was wearing a white lab coat with a similarly colored button-up shirt, which was tucked into a pair of brown slacks. A pair of brown loafers covered his feet.

" _Saluti a te._ " The man spoke, bowing with one hand on his chest and an arm across his back. "My name is Szayelaporro Granz, a pleasure to meet you, _ragazzo_."

Yukiyo's eyes widened, _Szayelaporro Granz_. The man smirked as he adjusted his glasses.

"I see you've heard of me, _ragazzo_. I suppose it's only natural, as I am only the greatest of scientists among devilkin." Szayel slowly moved past Yukiyo, who turned to keep his eyes on the scientist, and stared at the girl held up on the cross. "Truly this country boasts fine research specimens, a mundane girl, with no contact to the supernatural, and yet she boasts large amounts of magic circuits and a high amount of prana." The girl flinched as Szayel ran a hand down her stomach gently. The man smirked and turned so only half of his face was visible to the boy.

"Wouldn't you agree, _ragazzo_?"

Yukiyo's fists clenched as he stared at the blonde girl. Her eyes were the only difference. That was it. She looked so much like _her_. He could barely control the rage within him, all he let through was a series of trembles in a great effort to control his wrath. Szayel however, smirked as he noticed the boy's trembling.

"Are you scared, _ragazzo_?" He asked as he turned fully, slowly walking toward him. "There's no reason to be afraid, after all, I'll be certain to be precise in dissection. That way, your suffering will be reduced immensely. In additio-"

" _Trace, on_."

Szayel was cut off the instant Kanshou and Bakuya sailed past his head. The twin blades curved mid-flight before returning to their owner. Szayel stared at the blades with a slight amount of curiosity in his gaze.

"Gradation Air? I see, so you're not merely some boy. You have at least some training in the mystic arts it seems. However, such a magic is useless to perform, I doubt those blades will last longer than a few strikes against my dolls."

Yukiyo's glare increased at the man's words. Okay, now he was definitely going down. Not only did he kidnap and torture a girl who looked disturbingly like his mother. But he also insulted his pride and joy, his strength and his resolve.

Szayelaporro Granz had insulted his swords.

Yukiyo's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of several wooden clacking noises. Similar to the noise of a pair of sticks clashing with one another. Yukiyo's gaze flew about the room and he jumped back to barely dodge a pointed wooden arm. Another thrust forward from the opposite side, forcing him to roll forwards. He scowled and threw Kanshou forward, slicing through several of the mannequins easily before arcing back and returning to its wielder. Even then the large crowd of wooden figures was barely thinned. Yukiyo's teeth clenched as he flooded his circuits with more prana.

" _Trace bullet._ " Instantly a series of nameless swords appeared behind him. His teeth clenched as the wooden figures slowly shuffled forward, their arms turned to pointed lances. " _Fire!_ "

At his command, the projections soard forward. Slicing and piercing through the wooden soldiers as they flew. The ones he killed however were merely replaced by more.

This brought him to his current predicament; there were easily a few hundred mannequins that slowly stumbled towards him. Any time he traced swords to launch at him, more would replace the ones he struck down. While Yukiyo did posses a large amount of prana, his reserves were finite, and unlike Szayel, he had a limit on how far he could push his circuits. This brought the battle to a stalemate, turning it to one of endurance. Could Yukiyo last long enough to take out the mannequins and defeat Szayel? Or would Szayel overwhelm him before it could happen?

"Facinating." Szayel spoke, the mannequins halting, giving Yukiyo a much needed reprieve. "In all my years of study, I've never managed to witness such high quality Gradation air. Even the most proficient of Faker's could not launch their projections at the rate you do, especially for one so young."

Yukiyo said nothing merely glaring at Szayelaporro with all the exhausted hatred he could muster. The scientist merely smirked in return; "My offer still stands, and I may even give you painkillers when I am to dissect you."

Yukiyo smirked, "Go to hell."

Szayel's glasses flashed as he adjusted them, "Tell me, _ragazzo_ , where do you think I'm from?"

With the last phrase spoken, the mannequins snapped into action. Their limbs morphed into deadly points and they charged, intent on skewering Yukiyo for all he was worth. Yukiyo scowled and readied his weapons; Szayel however, smirked at the boy.

"Futile, these aren't ordinary mannequins, they're connected directly to my demonic power. Their strings are controlled purely by my fingers, so long as I breathe you can't defeat them."

Yukiyo's eyes narrowed at that, thoughts idly moving through various swords as he continued to dodge the thrusts and stabs of the mannequins. The first one that came to his mind was Rule Breaker, but that was an instant no, the dagger would likely break the instant he stabbed the first mannequin. The next one was Black Keys, but those were shot down, as they were meant to be throwing weapons and didn't have any sort of anti-magic properties. Anti-magic, his mind stopped and he nearly wanted to slap himself. Why didn't he think of _that_ before?

His weapon now selected, he dismissed Kanshou and Bakuya into motes of prana and pulled the trigger once again.

" _Trace, on._ "

In an instant, a long, crimson spear appeared in his hands. A small portion near the head engraved with celtic runes. The instant a mannequin came in for a thrust, Yukiyo dodged and responded with one of his own. The instant the spear pierced the wood the mannequin went limp, similar to a puppet whose strings have been cut.

Szayel's eyes were no doubt wide as he kicked the corpse of the doll away and turned to slash at another one from behind. It met the same fate and fell; another met the thrust of the lance and fell limp like its brothers.

This process repeated for several minutes before the dolls pulled back. Their master no doubt realizing that the spear in his hands was no ordinary one. Their bodies instantly shuddered and they sent their arms directly towards Yukiyo, no doubt intent on destroying him from afar. He merely smirked as several copies of the spear in his hand appeared behind him and he recited the incantation that he'd spoken earlier.

" _Trace bullet, fire!_ "

The spears sailed towards their targets, intent on piercing the mannequins and severing their ties with their master. While the spear couldn't sever the ties permanently like the Dagger of Betrayal could, it was still capable of severing ties between the Demonic Power in the mannequins and Szayelaporro. Not to mention it was far more conventional as a close combat weapon than Rule Breaker or the Black Keys. The Crimson Rose of Exorcism accomplished its task and the ties of magical energy between Szayel and the mannequins were gone. Soon, all the mannequins were limp, even the slightest nick was enough to render them immobile.

Szayel stared at the spear in the boy's hands. Slight amounts of fear were in his eyes, yet they were mainly filled with fascination. Yukiyo smirked at his expression.

"No doubt you're wondering how my spear severed your ties between you and your puppets. The answer lies in the spear itself; its name is Gáe Dearg, the Crimson Rose of Exorcism. All magic is severed by its edge." Yukiyo's smirk grew as Szayelaporro's look of fascination grew. " _Trace on._ " Another spear appeared in his empty left hand, shorter than Gáe Dearg, and yellow in color. But its abilities were likely even deadlier than its sister spear. "And this: is Gáe Buidhe, the Yellow Rose of Mortality, would you like to know how it got its name?"

Yukiyo silently reinforced his legs and charged, a flash of yellow that Szayel didn't bother to dodge. Blood spilled down his forehead and his glasses broke in half. Szayel slammed a hand over his left eye and screamed. Yukiyo's face slipped into a stoic mask as Szayel stumbled back.

"Gáe Buidhe gained its moniker by creating wounds that will never heal." Yukiyo explained, bringing the dual spears of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne to bear. "It is by these twin spears, Gáe Dearg and Gáe Buidhe, that you will meet your end."

Szayelaporro stared at the lances, fascination giving way to fear. Before he jumped back and withdrew a needle from his lab coat, and slammed it into his arm. Instantly, Szayelaporro turned to a gooey green sludge and began to ooze away from the boy. Yukiyo merely thrust Gáe Dearg into the ooze, but was shocked when the spear passed through it harmlessly.

" _Suprised?_ " Yukiyo scowled at the disembodied voice of Szayelaporro as the sludge began to slither through the cracks of the warehouse. " _You said that the red spear you wield sever ties in magic. This, however, is no magic, it is science._ "

Yukiyo's grip tightened on Gáe Buidhe as he realized that Szayel had somehow managed to discover a method to turn his own body into liquid. But calmed himself when the scientist left, there was no use crying over spilled water after all.

Yukiyo's eyes widened when he heard a low moan, and then he was extremely tempted to slap himself. He'd completely forgotten about the girl tied up on the cross. He instantly sprinted back to where she was and dismissed Gáe Buidhe and Gáe Dearg and tracing a single nameless dagger. With zero hesitation he slipped it into the ropes and managed to cut the girl down.

The girl opened her eyes and looked at him in fear. Bloodshot blue gaze swimming with anxiety and pain, Yukiyo merely placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "It's okay, he's gone."

The girl instantly broke out into fresh sobs and threw herself around him. Yukiyo's eyes widened before he began to stroke her bare back gently. Whispering words of comfort into the child's ear.

He didn't know how long they'd been sitting there, and frankly, he didn't care anymore, all he cared about right now was the girl in his arms.

"What's your name?" He asked before long, and shock came quickly as she choked out a single phrase.

"S-Satellizer L Bridget."

 **BAM I'm back with a new chapter ladies and gentlemen. And to be honest, I'm quite surprised that I've gotten so many favorites and follows for this story. Seriously, over 100 Favs and Follows. Not sure what I did to earn that, but I hope that this chapter was up to your expectations.**

 **Please leave a Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, like what you liked and what you think I could improve on. If you like this story than be sure to follow it so that you know when new chapters are going to be released. And if you like it quite a lot then please favorite it, it would mean a lot to know that my readers actually like the story.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, I only own my OC**

Yukiyo sighed in relief as he relaxed back in the herbal bath, his breath instinctively leaving his body as the hot water soothed over his aching muscles. His eyes opened and he smiled when a head of blonde hair had settled next to him.

Satellizer hadn't left his side ever since he cut her down from the cross in Szayel's lair. He gently raised a hand and stroked her hair carefully. He smiled and she gave a small sigh in pleasure before she pressed into his bare chest further.

His smile grew and his thoughts began to wander through the events that brought her to the home that he and Akeno managed to find after the death of his mother figure.

 **-XXXX-**

 _Flashback: Several weeks ago._

Yukiyo kept his gaze forward as he walked down the street further, the strange looks he was garnering from adults did little to deter him. No doubt they were looking at him strangely due to Satellizer resting on his back, her body covered by a spare lab coat he found in Szayelaporro's lair. A strange sense of nostalgia washed over him as he moved from the streets into the boarding house where he and Akeno were staying.

"I'm back!" He announced, after taking his shoes off and pulling on his house shoes. Satellizer remained latched onto his neck throughout this.

"You're later than usual, Yukiyo."

His blood ran cold at that and he slowly looked up to meet the gaze of a black haired woman with her hair up in dreadlocks. Her face twisted into a furious scowl, "You even missed dinner. What _brilliant_ reason did you see fit to lag behind, show up an hour late and with _dirty clothes_."

It was Satellizer's soft squeak of terror that broke the woman out of her tirade. She halted, and made contact with the head of blonde hair latched onto his back fearfully. Yukiyo's eyes widened and he instinctively turned and began reassuring her that the woman wasn't going to hurt her.

His gaze went back to his caretaker for a brief instant, only to see her angry look had turned to her usual scowl. It wasn't much of an improvement, but it at least showed that she was willing to listen to him now. Which was something that he was incredibly grateful for at this moment.

"Go and get cleaned up, I'll take care of her while you do."

He nodded and did his best to try and set Satellizer down from his back. She only responded by tightening her grip around his neck. Not to the point of choking him, but it was enough to notice the difference between this grip and the lax one she had on him before. He sighed and jostled her a few times, she responded by burying her face into his back and tightening her grip further.

"Don't leave."

Yukiyo froze at that and he felt something soak the back of his shirt. He sighed before glancing at his caretaker, who merely smirked at him and he responded by walking towards the stairs and moving up in the direction of the washroom.

 **-XXXX-**

 _Flashback end_

That had been several weeks ago and he had taken to washing the dust off his body and working to disinfect Satellizer's wounds. Which was a lot more difficult than he ever would've imagined. The young girl was strangely attached to him and would always stay remotely close to his presence. Whether that be clinging to his arm or resting against him in the tub. It caused him no small amount of grief from Akeno's overprotective sisterly instincts (If you could call it that).

His thoughts changed as they came to his older sister figure, they had been wandering on the road for a while before stumbling on this place. Their house that was also part meat shop. Apparently the owner was an old friend to Shuri and Baraqiel and they managed to recognize Akeno when the duo passed by a grocery store to try and buy some food. The owner, a woman who (much to his surprise), was named Izumi Curtis, she was a half Japanese, half German woman who ran a meat shop with her German husband, Sig.

Secretly, Izumi was a former member of a mage's organization and was a _very_ skilled Alchemist. To the point where she didn't even require a transmutation circle to perform her arts. She was so prodigious that she used her own Prana to bend the state of matter, freely able to bend it to her will. Something that was normally only achievable by the design in the center of a transmutation circle. This however, acted up an incurable illness that nearly sent her unconscious with each use of her craft.

Despite her illness, she was doing what she could to teach both of them as they lived in her residence. She had taken to teaching Akeno various types of healing spells, as she had to place many on herself in order to keep her illness from affecting her day-to-day life in her shop. The spells worked enough to the point where she could work and live so long as she didn't overuse her Alchemy. Izumi had also attempted to teach Yukiyo a bit of Transmutation via constructing a circle.

A grimace came to Yukiyo's face as he thought back to that memory. Whenever he tried to transmute something it's always end up either horribly disfigured or incredibly fragile. Izumi had yelled at him and called him a 'failure student who couldn't do the most basic thing right'. Yukiyo had even warned her beforehand that he wouldn't be able to perform the slightest spell outside his range of abilities. It was almost frustrating to be honest, but he kept reminding himself that he had all he'd need with the swords in his world. That was what he was after all, a sword

And swords were made to kill.

"Are you okay?"

Yukiyo looked up at the meek voice before smiling and pulling Satellizer in for a hug. She made a small squeak of surprise before she relaxed in his grip.

"I'm fine, Satellizer."

"Sorry…"

Yukiyo raised an eyebrow as she looked up with watery eyes, "For what?"

"Being a burden."

Yukiyo smiled, "You're not a burden, I helped you, so I think it's only right that I protect you also."

Satellizer looked up, meeting his emerald gaze with her azure one, "It's okay if I stay then?"

Yukiyo nodded, "Yeah, I think that Izumi wouldn't like it if I sent you off on your own."

Satellizer smiled again, this time a slight coloration spread along her cheeks as she rested her head on his chest again. Yukiyo smiled again and rested a hand on the small girl's back. A small knock on the door broke the moment that the two were sharing.

"Yukiyo, Satella-chan, are you finished? Izumi-san in calling for you two."

The clear voice of one Himejima Akeno sounded through the doors and Yukiyo glanced up while Satellizer gave a disappointed pout. He sighed and motioned for Satellizer to get off of him. Her pout grew and she reluctantly got off him to towel off.

"Yeah, we'll be out in a second, Akeno." Yukiyo called out as Satellizer began to pull her clothes on. He followed her example and toweled off before grabbing his outfit and pulling it on. He gave a small sigh and opened the door, only to see the very same scowling figure that he'd been dreading to meet.

Izumi regarded him and Satellizer for an instant before she jerked her head backwards and he nodded, following her down the hallway and out into the backyard of the shop/house. Izumi wordlessly clapped her hands together and placed one on the ground, slowly dragging her hand up until it formed the signature lance that he'd seen countless times before. Following her, Yukiyo extended his hands to the side and pulled the trigger, prana pooling out of the vent in his wrists.

" _Trace on_."

Izumi's face turned to a smirk as the familiar pair of married blades appeared. Yukiyo breathed again and silently sent his internal prana into his body, and then he moved. With speed that would make an olympic athlete proud he charged, twin blades coming to bear as he struck at his caretaker. Izumi smirked as she read his movements and blocked his attacks accordingly, every strike parried by the reinforced staff of wood or the metal tip of the lance. Izumi's smirk grew as she forced him back and came in for a thrust, Yukiyo barely bringing Bakuya up enough to block, Izumi responded by pulling back and attacking with a barrage of thrusts and slashes, the likes of which Yukiyo could barely keep up with.

Normally, he would've switched weapons had this been a real combat situation, but due to the nature of this spar; he was required to remain with the weapons that he currently held. His eyes narrowed as he searched Izumi's stance for a single opening, one he could exploit to tip the scales in his favor, only to feel dread seep into his stomach as he realized that there weren't any openings.

Normally he'd be faring far better, but the majority of the victories on his part were due to luck or utilizing his adaptability with several of the Noble Phantasms that he'd seen from various anime. People like Szayelaporro were scientists first and foremost and relied on other methods as opposed to straight combat. As for the killer that he'd killed before, well he underestimated him, which resulted in Yukiyo's first kill, the various Onmyoji that he'd killed that night…

They'd been hit with something that none of them had been prepared for.

Despite receiving training from Baraqiel, and while he had centuries worth of combat experience, the cadre held back while training him in swordsmanship.

Izumi on the other hand, didn't.

Honestly, the woman was insanely strong, and not just because of her alchemy. Izumi knew more than just transmutation after all, her creations were reinforced to the point where they could clash with his favored Chinese blades and not shatter. His eyes narrowed further as he continued to search for any opening he could exploit, no matter how small or hidden, all he needed was a second or two.

Suddenly, Izumi abruptly rushed forward, and instead of blocking, Yukiyo sidestepped, Izumi pivoted however, and thrusted her lance to impale the boy. Yukiyo barely dodged and suffered a slight cut on his cheek but the effect was there, Izumi was open, it was a small opening, but it was all he'd need. Yukiyo charged and slammed his shoulder into her stomach, forcing her to stumble back. He took the advantage in stride and began his true offence by hurling his weapons directly towards the woman.

 _Spirit and technique, flawless and firm_

The weapons were deflected and sent to the side, but Yukiyo remained undeterred. He charged, tracing a single Kanshou and slashing at Izumi, who barely had time to block before evading the Bakuya that came spiraling back.

 _Our strength rips the mountains_.

Yukiyo snatched the blade out of the air before dismissing the Kanshou and striking at the various openings that appeared with Bakuya, Izumi barely blocked them but was once again forced to evade as Kanshou barely grazed past her neck.

 _Our swords split the water_.

Yukiyo caught the second sword and struck, his arms and legs moving in a dance that fought at every available opening that came from dodging the black blade.

 _Our names reach the imperial villa_.

His eyes narrowed as he managed to open various nicks on the woman's body, she didn't seem to notice that he'd guided her to leave two specific openings, ones in her neck and her stomach, two sure kill locations.

 _The two of us cannot hold the heavens together_.

Yukiyo forced all of the prana he could muster into the blades, altering them until they became long and splintered, but also incredibly fragile.

" _Crane wing three realm_!"

His swords instantly rotated and struck, he'd used the back of the blade, not fatal, but surely injuring. As the woman fell to a knee and panted, Yukiyo himself fell to a kneeling position; his muscles and circuits ached. No doubt due to pushing them harder than he should have. Not to mention it still wasn't perfected yet, he'd gotten the idea for reproducing Triple-Linked Crane Wings when Izumi offered to spar with him after learning of the type of magic he utilized.

When he'd first started, it was pure experimentation, finding out what worked and what didn't. It was only now that he actually chained his experiments together and pulled off a combo that worked, hopefully it was adaptable enough to not only work against lance-users.

"Heh, you're getting better."

Yukiyo looked up and locked eyes with Izumi, a slight smirk on her face as she revealed her lance, which was split in three pieces. Yukiyo scowled, still not good enough. It'd no doubt take years before he perfected the sure-kill technique. His scowl faded to concern as Izumi stood before she doubled over, coughing and hacking up blood.

Yukiyo mentally cursed himself before sprinting over to the sickly woman and attempting to bring her inside. Unfortunately, the body of an eleven year old was not made for supporting a grown woman. Thankfully, Sig seemed to hear them as they sparred and walked out, grabbing and bringing Izumi inside in a bridal carry.

Yukiyo scowled before glaring down at his hands, he'd already dismissed Kanshou and Bakuya. His eyes closed as he breathed and once again pulled the trigger. Prana once again pooled into his palms and fluctuated attempting to form the scabbard that he visualised. His eyebrows furrowed, as the half-made construction didn't form, only remaining a pool of prana in his hands. He sighed in frustration as the prana vanished and he opened his eyes. His frustration fell way to disappointment, what an appropriate name that item held,

The everdistant Utopia.

 **-XXXX-**

Yukiyo sat, staring silently at his food during dinner. Izumi wasn't present, to be expected due to her sickness acting up during his sparring match. On either side of him, Satellizer and Akeno were eating their meal with gusto, also to be expected due to the fact that Sig cooked the meal. Yukiyo merely poked his food and absently played with his kitchen knife.

"Yuki-kun."

He looked to his left; emerald met concern-filled sapphire when Satellizer spoke up.

"You haven't eaten anything yet."

Yukiyo sent her a reassuring smile, "I'm alright, Satella, don't worry."

"Yukiyo," Said boy turned to the large man that sat in front of him, "Don't blame yourself for what happened during training, she knew the risks, and she took them to help you improve with those swords of yours."

Yukiyo's gaze hardened and dropped back to his meat filled plate, "I still shouldn't have pushed her that hard, I knew about her sickness and yet I pushed her to the point of breaking anyway, I shouldn't have tried Crane Wing Three Realm. I should've known that it would push her too hard."

Sig opened his mouth a brief minute before he sighed and closed it. He looked down and poked at his meal for a few minutes. Yukiyo didn't blame him; after all, he didn't know that he could potentially trace something to cure Izumi of her illness.

The next several minutes were spent in silence as the somewhat family continued to eat their meal. Which was soon interrupted by the sound of frantic coughing. Sig looked around before he stood and walked out of the room into the one he shared with Izumi. Yukiyo said nothing, merely continuing to stare down at his untouched food.

Their quiet (read: awkward) dinner was soon interrupted however as a knock on the door sounded out. Sig gave a small sigh before he stood up and walked towards the entryway. Yukiyo paid it little mind before his eyes widened as a certain scent came to his nose, it wasn't the food, or the natural scent that his friends gave off.

This was a scent of smoke, a very _familiar_ scent of smoke. His heart jumped into overdrive and he quickly pulled the trigger and threw his hand out.

" _Rho Aias!_ "

A hastily conjured shield of four petals formed in front of him and barely condensed in time to block the coming explosion. An explosion that completely consumed the large man that went to answer the door. The fire and smoke cleared to reveal a familiar man. The clean-cut black hair and traditional Japanese attire gave it away.

"You!" Yukiyo snarled and the man smirked before he placed a hand on the shield that he'd projected, a small flame igniting in his palm and slowly, the barrier he'd manifested crumbled away.

"A multi-layered barrier symbolized by a series of petals. An interesting projection of the shield of Ajax the great."

Yukiyo's eyes narrowed before he traced Kanshou and Bakuya into his hands and he charged swords already swinging as he gave a defiant war cry. The man sidestepped every strike, moved aside from every thrust. Yukiyo's already enraged state only increased as the man dodged every one of his attacks, all while maintaining that damn smirk.

"Keep him there!"

Yukiyo's eyes widened when a large section of the plaster on the wall extended out and slammed directly into the man's side. The attack sent him flying down the hallway and out the entryway. Instantly he turned and saw the electrical remnants of a transmutation. Izumi was leaning against the wall. Her face was pale and her mouth and brows were drawn into a furious crescent. She pushed herself off the wall and began to limp in the direction of the entrance before her body shuddered and she doubled over, her form wracked with blood filled coughs. Yukiyo stared at her with grim fascination before he moved forward and slammed Kanshou's hilt into the back of her head and turned to Akeno.

"Heal her, I'll be right back."

Akeno stared for a moment before she nodded and stood before moving forward and placing her hands on Izumi's chest her hands glowing a faint green as she slowly began to repair the damaged lung tissue. Yukiyo nodded before turning and walking out the dining room and into the doorway, preparing to move into what would soon become ground zero but was stopped by a burned charred corpse, he felt disgust well up inside him, but shoved it down. He set his features into a cool scowl and took a single step forward, but a small hand on the back of his shirt prevented him from taking any more.

"Don't go."

They were two words, yet they were filled with so much endearing hope and desire, filled with so much despair and hardship. He turned and regarded the small girl behind him with a single stare. He thought, deep in the back of his mind, why didn't the corpse affect her? Why was she only concerned about him and not Akeno or Izumi? Then the reasoning hit him.

Satellizer was experimented on, taken from her home, cut open repeatedly, sewed back together only to be cut open once again. Maybe what Szayel did to her extended beyond the flesh, maybe every time that damnable researcher sliced away the little girl's flesh; he sliced away parts of her old self as well. Then a young boy wielding swords and spears saved her. She was saved, but she wasn't the same. When people break, they can't be put back together, at least, not the way they used to be.

Satellizer L Bridget was distorted.

When he came to this revelation, Yukiyo didn't say anything; he merely smiled and dismissed his swords for a brief minute to grab her hand.

"I'm not gonna die, after all, there's something I still need to take care of." He let go of her hand and once again Traced the ever familiar married blades. "Keep Akeno and Izumi safe, I'll be right back."

She said nothing, merely nodded before she turned around and walked back towards the dining room. He watched, once again schooling his face into a mask of steel before he turned around. His eyes remained forward and he met the smirking face of the man that he'd come to loathe.

With calm resolve he stepped outside, this man had gotten away last time because Yukiyo was distracted and angry. That wasn't going to happen; only one would walk away from this. They stood there for several minutes, merely staring each other down before Yukiyo opened his mouth.

"Before we begin, let me ask you something." The man said nothing, merely raising his eyebrow, "What's your name?"

The man snorted before he formed a condescending reply, "I fail to see the necessity of voicing my name to a boy who's only going to die, but I will grant your wish, I am Himejima Suoh, wielder of the Suzaku."

Yukiyo had to resist a smirk, so that's how he removed Rho Aias. Shuri had done more than just teach him magic, she'd also taught him of the various mythologies of the supernatural world. This included the Cardinal Sacred Beasts and their wielders. The Suzaku, also known as the Zhū Què or Vermillion Bird was the sacred beast of the south and a master over the element of fire. It was said that the flames of the Suzaku could burn through whatever they touched. Not to mention the projection was rather haphazard and hastily formed.

This complicated things, but even if the enemy were a cardinal beast, it wouldn't matter. He needed to win, not just for himself, but also for everyone in the house behind him. So with those thoughts in his mind, he moved into a familiar stance, legs shoulder width apart, right leg back, knees bent, arms low, elbows bent, swords pointed to the side. He knew that this stance left two crucial locations open, his heart and his head, then again, wasn't the entire point to his fighting style leaving openings.

Suoh smirked and extended his hand to the side, a blaze appeared below his palm and instantly a sword made from flame appeared in the man's left hand.

Judging the concept of creation…

 _It was a sword of fire, born to enhance the wielder's use of spellcasting._

Hypothesizing the basic structure...

 _A two handed longsword, its guard bent out and upwards into a sharp right angle. The blade was thin, designed for speed. The weapon designed as a medium for fire magic._

Duplicating the composition material...

 _It was a sacred sword of supernatural metals handed down from generations, one head to the next._

Imitating the skill of its making...

 _It was forged within fires of spirits, tempered with alchemy and magic. It was a weapon forged not by mortal hands._

Sympathizing with the experience of its growth…

 _It was a sword used for centuries, the skill of its wielders differing from generation to generation._

Reproducing the acclimated years...

 _It was an old blade, being wielded for over 500 years and still remaining sharp and durable._

Excelling every manufacturing process…

 _It was a sword made to burn away the darkness of evil spirits, while not wielding the light of the Holy Blades; it was enough to protect its master and mankind. Its name was…_

"Enraiha."

Suoh nodded as he raised the blade, the weapon engulfing into flame.

"I'm impressed that you know this weapon's name, though I suppose its only natural considering you lived under the roof of that traitor."

Yukiyo's lips thinned as they entered a stare down, tension entering the air thick enough that he doubted either of them could cut it with their blades. Then, Yukiyo blinked, and Suoh charged, the man's blazing weapon slashing down on his head. Yukiyo saw it coming however and reacted within an instant, he parried the the strike and their battle officially commenced.

 **-XXXX-**

Block, counter, dodge, slash, block, parry, dodge.

Their battle continued, minutes slowed to hours, seconds slowed to minutes. The adrenaline running through their bodies slowing time, the background fading away to only focus on each other. To an outsider it would appear that the two were stalemated, but both Yukiyo and their hidden observer knew that in truth, Yukiyo was losing ground.

It was only natural, magic and self-reinforcement could go extremely far, and masters of combat had trained Yukiyo. But Suoh had lived far longer than the boy, and because of that, he had seen the battlefield more times than he could count. While it was true that Yukiyo could move at impressive speeds and was surprisingly skilled for one such as him, it wasn't enough. This wasn't even taking into account the quality of their circuits.

Yukiyo had numerous circuits for a human mage, and they were of surprising quality, but Suoh unfortunately was the inheritor of a cardinal beast who could generate flames with a flap of its wings. Suoh smirked as he felt it heat and pulse, almost akin to a second heartbeat, flooding his body with prana that enhanced his body beyond that of an olympic athlete.

This was their difference. Yukiyo had Circuits while Suoh had a Core. This was what caused the overwhelming strength that pushed Yukiyo back, causing him to stumble. Suoh capitalized on the opening and lashed out. Yukiyo hissed as the wound opened, blood momentarily flew forward before a silver sheen took place across his chest where the wound should have been. Despite the "healing" however, the spectator had seen enough.

How dare he? How dare he harm him? How dare that man come along and hurt his precious people, how dare he come and threaten him with his sword made from flames. How dare this man try and take her savior away from her!

This man would be punished, he would be destroyed, she would see to it. She would see to it that he would be erased from existence. He would die, in the most painful way possible for the insult of hurting _her_ savior.

It was these thoughts that sent Satellizer L Bridget into madness.

 **-XXXX-**

Yukiyo bit back a wince as Enraiha tore into his flesh and burned his skin. He leapt back and silently sent prana to the opened wound. Within an instant his Reality Marble responded and knitted the open flesh together, it was truly a self-harming way of "healing" but to be honest, he didn't care right now. All he needed was to survive, and if this was the price he had to pay for it, then so be it.

His thoughts resumed as a lull in the battle came, somehow, Suoh had increased his strength enough to temporarily overwhelm him and leave him open enough for a single attack. His eyes narrowed as he tried to find any abnormality in his body that would indicate something that would increase strength. A Sacred Gear perhaps? No, there was no outward indication. It was possible that-

Any train of thought vanished when a streak of grey flew directly into Suoh's side, sending him flying into a tree. The figure landed next to him and his eyes widened when he caught sight of it.

It was humanoid in appearance, with two legs and arms; it had gray skin and long white hair, bright crimson eyes staring with madness at Suoh. All over it's body were long blade like extensions, jutting from its shoulders, elbows, knees, and back. Its teeth were sharpened to the point where it looked akin to a beast and its fingers were tipped with razor sharp talons. Yet despite this transformation, he could still see who it was beneath that gray skin.

"Satellizer?"

She didn't respond, only glared directly towards Suoh whose eyes narrowed in disgust.

"I see, a Daemon was present in this house."

Yukiyo's blood chilled at that, Daemons, they were a primordial existence and the ancestors to Devils. No one truly knew what happened to them, but it was said that each and every Daemon was the embodiment of darkness and sin, mindless beasts that committed sins and crimes that would even make the Old Maou Faction shudder. There were multiple speculations on what happened to Daemons, but the common belief was that they had devolved into the modern day Devil. Daemons still existed, but they were so rare that the amount of them remaining could be counted on one hand.

"If an existence such as you insists to appear before me, then I shall exorcise you, and erase your existence. Daemon,"

Satellizer didn't seem to like what Suoh said, as she roared and charged. Claws readied to rend flesh. Suoh stood and stumbled slightly when he limped on one of his legs. Yukiyo's teeth clenched as emotions rose. In this state he couldn't do anything to stop Satellizer from killing the man. Oh don't get him wrong, he wanted Himejima Suoh dead as much as he wanted Szayelaporro Granz writhing on the floor. But if he were to kill their current head it was likely that the entire clan would go to war, and that wasn't something he could afford, not without the backing of a powerful faction.

His teeth clenched tightly as he ran, sprinting to stop the little girl that he'd saved all those weeks ago. He needed to stop her, needed a body beyond what a human was capable of. And yet he was far too slow, it wasn't enough; he would never make it in time.

Then, something snapped, and his body overflowed with prana.

His eyes widened and he felt like screaming as the swords in his body expanded, nearly piercing through his flesh. His chest heated up and throbbed, almost as if something was there besides his heartbeat. His blood began to boil; heat and electricity shooting through every single nerve in his body, making the earth around him slow from his accelerated vision. His bones creaked; it nearly felt as if they'd shatter just from moving an inch. In his hands Kanshou and Bakuya immediately turned to their overedge forms from the amount of energy he was giving off.

This wasn't good, he needed to get the ambient prana out of his body before he died from being cooked (or impaled) from the inside out.

" _ **I am the bone of my sword**_." He croaked, barely managing to perceive the first syllable.

" _ **Steel is my body and fire is my blood**_."

His swords vanished and he instinctively Traced a black bow in his left hand, in his right a small sphere of prana formed before it lengthened and extended into a single sword.

It was a strange blade that lacked a proper edge, instead forgoing it for a drill-like spiral shape into a point. He notched it onto his bow and pulled back and took aim, pointing it directly in the sky. He forced all of the extra prana directly into the sword and hissed as shards began to explode off it and into his skin. He clenched his teeth and concentrated, putting all of his focus into keeping the blade from exploding prematurely.

" _ **My core lies twisted in madness…**_ "

His eyes narrowed, the weapon barely restrained enough to detonate while a safe enough distance from any civilization.

" _ **Caladbolg!**_ "

With that he loosed the weapon and the world came into focus around him. He could still see Satellizer charging towards Suoh in a blind rage. His eyes narrowed and within an explosion of prana out of the vents on his ankles he was flying through the air, while tracing a single dagger in his hand simultaneously. It was said that a Daemon's skin was laced with magical energy and made it difficult to pierce, however, this weapon was not designed to rend flesh, it was instead forged to rend magic.

He reached her in seconds and without hesitation, he plunged the dagger into her back.

Satellizer roared and halted mid-charge. It wasn't long before she began lashing about in a terrifying frenzy. Yukiyo narrowed his eyes and traced several Black Keys before lashing out in a fan formation. The weapons bit into her skin and she roared once again. Yukiyo clenched his teeth before tracing several just above her shadow and launching them down. Within an instant Satellizer froze and she began to growl as the Keys restricted her movement. Yukiyo sighed out of relief before a searing pain shot through his entire body. Satellizer bellowed, a sound that was less than human and more akin to a savage beast. His eyes widened and he glanced down, seeing the end of Enraiha sticking through his chest.

Yukiyo coughed up blood and fell to his knees. His eyes were wide and Enraiha remained in his chest. Suoh walked out in front of him with his hands held behind his back.

"To be honest, I'm quite surprised you managed to restrain this beast so effortlessly, stopping a Daemon's charge is no small feat, especially for one so young. However I'm afraid that this is your limit, at the very least, take solace in the fact that your friends will soon join you."

Yukiyo wanted to yell, to scream out in pain and denial. To reject this man and send every blade in his Reality Marble down his spine. Consequences be damned, but he couldn't, due to tracing and breaking a Noble Phantasm earlier and the prana overload he'd undergone only moments prior, he couldn't even muster the strength to twitch, let alone gather the Prana necessary to trace so many blades. Not to mention the fact that if he lost focus of the Black Keys for even an instant, Satellizer would break free.

"Wait!"

Yukiyo felt dread seep into his stomach at the voice that called out. He couldn't see her, but he knew she was there, standing on the doorstep with her hand on the frame, Akeno.

"You're after me aren't you?" She asked, Yukiyo couldn't see, but he knew Suoh nodded. "Then kill me, but let them go."

Yukiyo's eyes widened before he mustered all the strength he had left pulled his head up and yelled out in defiance.

"No!"

He saw Suoh turn slightly, the man raising an inquisitive eyebrow Yukiyo coughed up blood again before he looked up and scowled.

"Take...me...instead."

Suoh merely stared before his eyebrow fell. "While I acknowledge your resolve to protect her, I cannot allow this _stain_ on our clan's history to continue."

Yukiyo's eyes narrowed and on the edge of his tongue were the two words that would end this. Suoh would die, and he would likely follow with his wounds combined with the state of his internal organs. But it would be enough he had to protect Akeno.

But then a small voice called out in his head, ' _If you die here, how will you avenge her death?_ '

Yukiyo's eyes narrowed as his emotions began to war. One side of him wanted to protect Akeno and give his life in turn, however the other part wanted to sacrifice Akeno to continue to try and avenge his mother's death. His two promises continued to battle, one to Shuri, and another to his Mother. His internal strife was interrupted however when an outside voice spoke up.

"If that is the case, then why don't we strike a compromise?"

Yukiyo looked to the side to catch a man walking towards them with his hands clasped behind his back. Behind him walked a man who wore traditional western ceremonial robes. He had a thin black goatee and black hair. On his fingers were several rings. The man who had spoken had wavy hair and a small beard that could be called crimson. He wore a white shirt with gold accents and a black collar, along with cuffs of the same color. He also wore white pants and black loafers.

"A Devil," Suoh spoke, "Hair the color of spilled blood… you are of the Gremory clan correct?"

The man nodded before he bowed. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Himejima Suoh, I am Zeoticus, head of the Gremory family, Duke of the 72 pillars."

Suoh bowed in response, "Himejima Suoh, head of the Himejima clan among the five great clans and current wielder of the spirit of the Suzaku." The men raised and Suoh raised an eyebrow, "What kind of compromise do you propose?"

Zeoticus gave him a smile, "The deal I propose is as follows, you of the Himejima clan will cease your hunt for Himejima Akeno and in return, we will keep her from entering your clan's territory. She will also become a servant of the Gremory as payment for our protection."

Yukiyo felt his jaw clench at that, his hands twitched as if they were gripping swords. But he couldn't do anything beyond that. To say he disliked the reincarnation system was an understatement, he loathed it, despised it. He knew it was necessary for the devils to survive as a species, but it flew in the face of what humanity stood for. Humanity was created to be flawed, to be powerless and weak, but in return they were born with potential. They had potential to become strong enough to stand on par with dragons. When they became devils, all of that potential was gone. But the biggest insult? The fact that it could revive the dead, humans were born with a short life, and he accepted that, you only live once and death is always a part of life. But devils don't see that. They only see a powerful piece to manipulate.

"I see no benefit for the Himejima clan in this deal." Suoh spoke after several minutes of silence and consideration; this was apparently to the amusement of Zeoticus, as his smile seemed to grow.

"Ah, but do you not see, Lord Himejima? Akeno will not be remembered as a stain on the clan of the Himejima, but rather, as a devil servant of the Gremory family. You would be free of your plight, and I would gain a valuable guardian. What say you?"

Suoh went to silence again and Yukiyo felt the presence in his stomach fade. He coughed up blood once again before he collapsed, his vision swimming from blood loss. His body began to feel light and his eyelids drooped. He tried to open them but they wouldn't move. Soon his mind faded and his vision gave way to darkness.

 **-XXXX-**

When he came to, it was to a worry filled violet-eyed gaze over his body. A cool feeling, almost like placing an icepack on a burn wound, soothed the burning pain in his stomach. He looked down and saw Akeno's hands hovering over his stomach; a soft green glow illuminated her palms. He blinked a few times before asking the first question that came to his mind.

"How long was I unconscious?" He coughed out; his throat was unexpectedly dry. This was solved when Akeno smiled and removed one of her hands and held her palm out, a small sphere of water coalesced above it and she lowered it towards his lips. He drank it slowly and relished the feeling of the cool liquid running down his throat.

"Only a few minutes." She responded after he finished drinking. With little else to do, she moved back to healing his stomach. Yukiyo tensed when a foreign magical presence spiked, he tried to sit up, but Akeno kept him down. Yukiyo scowled before straining his neck to view the man that was with Zeoticus earlier holding an unconscious Satellizer in his arms. The man walked over to them before placing Satellizer on the other side of Akeno.

"What did you do?"

"I sealed away her daemonic blood until she becomes mature enough to control it." The man said; Yukiyo raised an eyebrow.

"You can do that?"

The man nodded, "Indeed, would you like a lesson on the creation and application of seals? I could teach you even more if you came with us to the Gremory manor."

"Now, now, Agrippa, you shouldn't overwhelm the boy."

Yukiyo's attention was brought from the man near them to Zeoticus who stood to the side, a pleasant smile covering his face.

"Greetings, I don't think we've been introduced. I am Zeoticus Gremory, head of the Gremory family of the 72 pillars."

The boy nodded before introducing himself, "Yukiyo."

The devil raised an inquisitive eyebrow, "You lack a family name?"

He nodded, "I abandoned it."

The multitude of them went into a silence that lasted until Akeno finished healing him to the point where he could walk. She let out an exhausted sigh and sat back on her heels, her eyes closed before they opened slowly. She smiled before standing and walking over to where Zeoticus and the other devil were standing. She nodded wordlessly and turned her head, her eyes were swimming with emotion and her smile was quivering. Zeoticus placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned back to him. Yukiyo felt a dark rage shoot through him, acting purely on that impulse, he called out,

"Akeno!"

She turned back just as a bright red circle appeared beneath her feet.

"I'll save you, I promise."

Tears streamed down her cheeks and she smiled again, before nodding and turning back, soon her body completely sunk into the earth and Yukiyo clenched a fist.

' _I'm sorry, Shuri_.' He thought, ' _I failed to protect her_.'

He was brought from his self-loathing by a small hand that grasped the back of his. He locked eyes with a pair of sapphires and they merely sat there for several minutes, Yukiyo's lips drew together and he smiled.

"Come on, there's something I want to show you."

 **-XXXX-**

They continued to walk through the streets of the familiar city, days after Akeno had been taken, the sun had long since set and the stars twinkled in the sky. It had been years since he'd visited this place. He often thought that he'd never come back, but something had drawn him to this place, soon they stopped in front of an old house that was incredibly small. It didn't hold much other than a bedroom and a kitchen/dining room blend. He knew this house better than anyone; after all, this was where he made his promise.

But now that promise was clashing with another, one to his mother, another to a childhood friend. He could feel the emotions war within him now, ones that urged him to abandon Akeno and focus on revenge, and ones that demanded he forget revenge and find a way to save Akeno.

"Do you regret it?"

The phrase was simple, asked by a man that stood behind him. Yukiyo didn't turn around; he merely shook his head in the negative. He wouldn't regret, he would mourn, but never would he regret the promise he made.

He felt Satellizer's hand tighten in surprise before he gave her a gentle squeeze. The man behind him wasn't here to fight, if he was then they'd already be dead.

"You want to come with me? I can offer you a place to stay, and all the resources that I have on the supernatural will be at your fingertips. You may even find the man that killed her."

Yukiyo remained silent, before he traced the blazing sword he'd seen days prior in his empty left hand and hurled it at the empty house in front of them. Enraiha easily set the house ablaze and soon the entire house was consumed with a bright orange flame.

Yukiyo turned around at last and gave the man behind him a smirk, the man responded with one of his own before he walked forward. His eyes locked on the burning house in front of them. They stood like that for several minutes before the man finally spoke.

"What's your name kid?"

"Yukiyo."

The man turned to him with an inquisitive raise of the eyebrow before he turned around and gave a smile. Yukiyo turned back and locked eyes with the coming dawn.

"Would you look at that, it almost looks like a town on fire with that light."

Yukiyo raised an eyebrow at the man next to him before he spoke again.

"Himura, that's the Japanese meaning right?"

Yukiyo sighed, "That's one way to look at it."

The man gave an amused chuckle and ruffled his hair. "That'll be your new family name, Himura, a snowy night like you needs to have some light in its lifetime doesn't it?"

Yukiyo sighed before nodding reluctantly; it would work so long as he didn't adopt _that man's_ name.

"So now, what's your answer to my offer, Himura Yukiyo?"

Said boy looked down and turned silent, the implications that the man was offering would definitely be beneficial in the long run, access to supernatural resources, possibility that he could find his mother's killer, not to mention that he would be closer with the events intended in the plotline of the world he'd been reincarnated into.

"I accept, Governor-General."

The man smirked once again before extending the large twelve feathered black wings, each seeming to absorb the light from the rising sun.

 **AN: Well that took longer than I thought it would.**

 **Sorry for the long wait, right when I was midway through writing this thing, finals kicked in and I lost a lot of motivation to write. Then writer's block hit and my drive went to shit. But I'm back and with an extra long chapter to boot. Seriously, over 7,000 words, I didn't expect this to take that much, and I hope the chapter was worth the wait.**

 **This chapter officially marks the end of the first Arc, thank god. Next chapter will involve another timeskip, but we won't get to canon for another few chapters. Don't expect to see much from Izumi anymore, she may pop up in some later chapters, but nothing too extreme will come out. As for Yukiyo's Triple-Linked Crane wings, that'll come out later. Also, for those of you who wanted Yukiyo in Rias's peerage, sorry to disappoint, but Yukiyo isn't going to be reincarnated, I think it's an overused trope that people use to get their characters close to the plotline for DxD. And yet there aren't a lot of stories that use Grigori as a method.**

 **Please leave a Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, like what you liked and what you think I could improve on. If you like this story than be sure to follow it so that you know when new chapters are going to be released. And if you like it quite a lot then please favorite it, it would mean a lot to know that my readers actually like the story.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Highschool DxD, I only own my OC.**

Yukiyo's eyebrows furrowed in irritation at the blaring object next to him and pulled the sheets over his head. Unfortunately, that did nothing to drone out the high-pitched beep that urged him to wake up. He grunted before pulling the trigger and sending a traced dagger directly through the damnable thing his foster father had dared to buy him while keeping the rest of the table intact. Despite this, he knew that going back to sleep would be impossible, as such, he sat up and stretched, his back giving several satisfying pops as it went back into place.

He swung his legs out and prepared to stand, but was halted by a pair of slender arms draping about his shoulders and resting on his bare chest, he gave a smile as her head rested in the crook of his neck before reaching out and handing the young woman behind him a pair of square rimmed glasses. She yawned and adjusted them before planting her lips on his neck gently.

"Satellizer," he began, grasping her wrists, "I need to get moving." He didn't need to see the small scowl forming on her face to know that she was upset at the prospect of leaving their current position. "I need to see what the old man needs." Her grip only tightened at that before he tightened his grip,

"Satella, _please_."

She sighed before reluctantly letting go and finally allowing him to stand. He smiled before turning around and giving her a gentle peck on the lips, she scowled and he allowed a small smirk before moving to the closet that was next to his bed. The room that had been given to him by Azazel was rather simple, it was a large room with the door several meters in front of the foot of the bed, which was a large, four poster queen size, capable of comfortably sleeping two, to the right of the entrance was the bathroom while on the other side was a walk-in closet and a desk pushed into the wall just before it. Yukiyo's eyes narrowed in the dim light and he snapped his fingers, the lights brightening in response. He moved from his position and retrieved his combat uniform, a sleeveless black chest piece made of an unknown material, likely one that Azazel synthesized for him, and a pair of black pants, combined with a pair of black fingerless gloves. While they may seem simple, they were in truth, engraved with runes on their interior to enhance their protective properties once prana was sent through them.

His combat gear now retrieved, he moved from his closet to the bathroom, a simple snap once again turned the lights on and he glanced to the right, meeting a pair of hard, emerald green eyes swimming with silver behind white lashes that gradually turned black as they reached his crown. Yukiyo felt a scowl come on as he leaned in, it seemed as though the effects of projection overuse were finally taking their toll. It had been four years since he'd accepted Azazel's offer, and his previously gentle boyish features had sharpened, fat turning into chiseled muscle when he moved into his teen years.

His scowl faded and he sighed in resignation before turning on the hot water, stripping out of his sleep pants and stepping in. He let out a content sigh as the water droplets ran down his skin and the last of the morning's drowsiness faded away. He quickly washed himself before stepping out and drying off. This transitioned into the rest of his routine as he pulled on his armor and moved out the door, that old man was likely waiting for him. When he moved out the bathroom it was to a fully dressed Satellizer brushing her hair in a circular mirror nearby. Yukiyo allowed a wry smile at the look of sheer concentration on her face before walking over to her and tapping her shoulder. She nodded before setting down the brush on the dresser before moving out the door into the hallway.

Grigori HQ was situated in the underworld within a territory that the Fallen Angels had taken over during the Great War, Azazel himself had seen to the development of a nation, which acted as a safe haven for the Fallen Angels. The nation was small in comparison to devil territories, having enough surface area to rival France in size, while that may seem large, the overall underworld surface area was far larger as it lacked oceans, for example the Bael territory was said to rival the area of the state of Alaska. The government was one similar to a representative democracy where votes occurred in six-year intervals with the people electing a Governor for the executive, and legislative representatives from their separate provinces for a senate. Grigori itself was more of a military organization that Azazel ran and the man simultaneously campaigned for leadership in the government, the simple reason being that not all Fallen Angels were happy with how the Great War ended. Kokabiel being the prime example, however he had plenty of supporters, and if the cadre had campaigned for Governor, then it was extremely likely that the man's supporters would work to start another Great War, it was for this reason that Azazel campaigned every six years, and every six years he won by a landslide.

Yukiyo was so lost in these thoughts that he didn't notice they'd arrived at the entrance to Azazel's office until Satellizer shook his arm, jolting him from his reminiscing. He glanced up before sighing and opening the door, not even bothering to knock, as he knew that the old man only did two things in his office.

Sign Papers

Watch porn

Sometimes he even did both.

Thankfully when Yukiyo walked in, his foster father was doing the former. The man was smiling serenely as he signed document after document, long since used to the tedious time that paperwork took up. Say what you will about the old Fallen, you could never fault the man when it came to his work ethic. When the duo walked up to the front of his desk, the man looked up, already identifying them when they walked into the room. Without even blinking he put the pen he was using down and folded his hands on the mahogany surface in front of him.

Azazel's office was incredibly well kept despite being a faction leader; it was circular in structure with some paintings on the sidewalls and a large bookshelf that reached the tall ceiling curving behind him. In the center was a single mahogany desk with a pair of chairs in front of it, one of which was occupied by a silver-haired youth wearing a black leather jacket and a violet colored shirt underneath it. He was leaning back in the chair while a young blond haired man stood behind him with his hands folded behind his back. A pair of glasses rested on his nose while wearing a black suit and tie over a white dress shirt.

Yukiyo nodded to the blond, Arthur, who nodded back in turn before he took a seat next to the silver haired teen, Vali. Satellizer stopped directly behind his chair, in the same position as Arthur. Vali shot him a sideways smirk while Yukiyo responded with a nod, his face remaining neutral.

With that completed, Azazel opened his mouth, "Before we begin, I want to thank you all for coming on such short notice."

The teen next to him waved his hand, "Cut the crap already old man, just get to the good part, whom do we get to kill?"

Yukiyo scowled at him before turning back to his foster father with a quirked eyebrow. Azazel took the brush-off in stride, long since used to the impatience of a dragon.

"We've got an A-class stray devil who decided to cross the border between the Devil and Fallen Angel territories. It's taken up shop in a forest near a village close to the border."

"Casualties?" Yukiyo inquired.

"None." The leader responded, "The Stray's likely not to attack unless it's provoked, we've already issued a command not to enter the forests until it's either been killed or captured."

"Captured?" Vali asked, likely confused that they couldn't just kill it.

"Our scouts reported that it has some kind of presence concealment." The man's face turned serious, but a glint of madness entered the man's eye. "We have reason to believe that it's a Senjutsu user."

Yukiyo's grip tightened on his arms, Senjutsu, it was a rare ability that any faction would like to have. Senjutsu was an ability only usable by humans and a very select amount of Monsters or Youkai. It was similar to magic, yet it varied on one key subject, magic utilized prana; the natural energy a soul gave off to change the external world. Senjutsu on the other hand, used Mana, the energy of the world itself to change it. By drawing on the energy of the world, it allowed a change on a greater scale, sometimes even bending space and time to their will, and the energy of the world was far more dense and plentiful than prana. This came however with the price of taking the malice that the world had accumulated over the centuries of suffering that humans had inflicted on it. That tended to drive most users to madness before they could use the power they'd gained.

More than that however, Yukiyo had a sneaking suspicion that he knew who this stray devil was. After all, how many Strays in DxD could use Senjutsu?

"I'm sending you four to go and capture it if possible, if not, kill it, we should be able to extract something from its corpse."

Vali's smirk grew to predatory levels as he sat back further, "This should be fun, I've never fought a sage before, hopefully they can last long enough."

Yukiyo sent a sideways glance towards his partner before sighing and shaking his head, once a battle freak always a battle freak. Then again he supposed it was only fair, battle was Vali's hoard after all. Dragons naturally were prideful, selfish, and arrogant creatures, who showed off their pride in different ways, it didn't help that Vali was the descendant of the Devil who originally embodied pride. Anyway, dragons expressed their pride through their hoards, now hoards could be anything really, from treasures, to even women. Dragons coveted what was in their hoards and greedily took anything that wasn't in them. For example, Vali's hoard was strength and battle. Vali expressed his pride through clashing with a foe and showing them just how _helpless_ they were against him. Issei's on the other hand, was women. He lusted after any pretty girl or busty woman that he laid eyes on and desired all of them in his obsession to become a "Harem-king."

Yukiyo was quickly broken from his thoughts when Azazel spoke up once again. "Good to see that you're so eager, Vali, but remember to bring it back alive if you can. Kill it only if you need to."

Arthur quickly placed a hand on the silverette's shoulder to break him from his thoughts of ripping the enemy in half. Vali clicked his tongue and closed his eyes.

"Yeah yeah I get it. Lighten up a little won't ya?"

Yukiyo smirked before he stood up and turned around to exit before his foster father stopped him.

"How's the seal working?"

He halted and absently rubbed his armored chest, "Fine."

He couldn't see it but even Vali was staring at him with a small amount of concern. None of them had any idea how the damn thing happened upon Yukiyo, but it was discovered quickly when Vali was sparring with the teen and he abruptly collapsed. When Vali approached him swords launched out from inside the boy and nearly impaled them. Azazel came by and it was only due to his expertise and Vali's Sacred Gear that the boy survived. Satellizer was pretty rough after that, never leaving the teen's side unless he was showering. But the Governor was far more concerned as to how Yukiyo had gained a Magic Core of all things. Honestly, those were only found in supernatural beasts; such as Dragons or Phoenixes. It was a question that they saved for later however, as Yukiyo needed some way to control it until his body had matured enough to handle the amount of Prana that it was producing. Azazel came up with a solution by planting most of his circuits in an area around the core to form a temporary seal that functioned like a faucet, letting out small amounts of prana so that the core didn't overtax his circuits. No one knew if it would work, but according to Yukiyo, the seal was working just fine.

With that, Azazel nodded, not that the teen could see it and waved them off, "Get going then, that Stray won't stay hidden forever, it's bound to come out and start consuming the villagers."

Yukiyo and Vali nodded, the current White Dragon Emperor standing up and walking to stand beside the teen, resting a hand on his shoulder as he did so. The incarnation turned and nodded before walking out of the doorway, the half Daemon and Pendragon following close behind.

 **-XXXX-**

"Man, why'd this stray have to hole up in a forest of all things? Why couldn't it have been some kind of plain or field?" Vali griped as he swatted another insect. "Damn rabid dogs and their paranoia."

Yukiyo ignored him as he looked through the canopy with reinforced eyes. The forest itself was rather thick, with tall trees that rarely let in any sunlight. It made the place rather dim and difficult to see. In other words, a perfect place to hide from those who would seek to hurt you, or to conduct an ambush. Behind them walked Arthur and Satellizer. The Pendragon held his family's prized Sword in the Stone in a reverse-grip. While the half-daemon held her weapon, Nova Blood in a similar fashion.

"It's only natural." The male blond mused, "Strays are sought out with extreme prejudice in all three factions, as such, they need a place that suits them most for hiding out until they gain enough power to ward off pursuers."

Vali clicked his tongue again before turning silent. Much to Satellizer's amusement as she let out a small smirk at the White Dragon Emperor's inability to form an adequate retort.

"Vali." Yukiyo finally spoke up. "If you want to get out of the forest sooner, help us find the Stray by putting those wings you're so proud of to use." He nodded upward, "Fly around the canopy and see if you can locate her."

"Her?" The silverette asked with a quirked eyebrow, while Yukiyo mentally cursed himself at the slip.

"Just call it a hunch, now get going already."

"Alright, relax." Vali stated before he activated his wings and jumped into the air. He took a step forward before Satellizer grabbing his gloved hand in hers stopped him.

"You alright?" She asked, concern for his well being flooding her tone. He merely nodded before removing his hand and resuming his motions, completely oblivious to the look of concern mixed with hurt covering the young woman's face.

"You saved me." She muttered, the hand that held Nova Blood tightening to the point where her knuckles turned pale, not white-knuckled, but extremely close. "Why can't I do anything to save you?"

All of them were jolted from their thoughts when a call that verified Vali had found the Stray sounded throughout the empty forest.

 **[Divide!]**

Yukiyo instinctively primed the trigger in preparation to trace a Black Key, Holy Sword, or his Bow. Behind him, Arthur and Satellizer readied their respective weapons, and not a moment too soon as a dark figure came crashing down several meters in front of them before crashing against a tree. A few moments later, Vali came hovering down.

"Looks like your hunch was right, Yukiyo." Vali said, a smirk decorating his face.

His hunch was correct, in more than one way. The figure leaning against the tree struggled to her feet, her body covered by a kimono that could barely be considered clothing by how low the neckline was. She was extremely thin and likely hadn't eaten for days. Her flesh covered by scratches, dirt and blood. However one in particular drew Yukiyo's attention the most. A long thin wound, likely delivered by a slashing weapon ran across her torso. Her black hair was wild and uncombed, cat ears jutting out of the top of her head while a forked tail stretched behind her. Her golden eyes were glinting with madness.

Kuroka, a future member of the Vali team and one of the two surviving Nekoshou.

"A Nekomata?" Arthur asked with a raised brow, "I must say I didn't expect that to be our foe."

Yukiyo nodded and Vali's smirk grew. "Why do her race and sex matter again?" The White Dragon Emperor asked.

Yukiyo responded by pulling the trigger and tracing six Black Keys. "They don't."

And with that the battle began. Kuroka snarled and her nails lengthened, becoming glowing claws of mana from the atmosphere. Without any hesitation she charged towards Yukiyo, the front of the party, bringing her claws to bear. The teen sidestepped and moved back. Dodging every single strike she delivered in her mad rage. While preoccupied with him the Nekoshou failed to realize that there were others present and got a daemon-level kick to her side because of it.

As she was a bishop and had no true defensive ability she was sent flying before she clashed into a tree. Kuroka snarled again and attempted to leap forwards, but the presence of four daggers in her shadow prevented her from moving at all. Arthur reacted and channeled his Prana into Caliburn and swinging out, breaking the maddened stray from her struggling. Even in her berserk state she could still identify that if she moved, she would be killed by one of the strongest banes to her existence.

 **[Divide!]**

With the second drain to her power Kuroka began to slump, her makeshift claws flickered before she tried to jolt upwards. Yukiyo however had different plans. Moving faster than she could track he quickly landed a chop to the back of her neck. And with that, the barely sane Nekoshou slumped and lost consciousness, her claws fading completely back to normal length nails.

"That… ended rather quickly." Arthur commented, a small amount of surprise in his voice as he drew his sword away from the woman's neck.

Yukiyo nodded. "She was in a state of madness, no doubt if she were in control of herself she would've given us _far_ more trouble." And he meant it. He'd read the things that this woman could do; by the time canon started she could manipulate _space_.

"Well, mad or no, the important thing is that she's beaten right?" Satellizer asked. Yukiyo nodded while Vali gave a disappointed sigh.

"And here I thought I'd get a fight from an actual _sage_."

The green eyed teen shot the silverette a look, "You'll get your chance."

"You don't know that."

Yukiyo had to hide his amusement at that comment; he actually did, if canon was anything to go by then the White Dragon Emperor would get to fight with sages in the future.

"As amusing as this is..." Arthur took that moment to speak up, "We should return to Azazel-sama. He will want to see this woman himself, he may even offer her a spot in Grigori."

The others nodded and Yukiyo released his hold on the Black Keys while Vali caught her before she fell and threw her over his shoulder. Their mission complete, the four turned and made their way back to the HQ.

 **-XXXX-**

She loathed it.

This place was incredible, filled with velvet rugs and crimson doors. Rooms that were of higher quality than even five-star hotels, beds so soft that you could swear that you were sleeping on a cloud. There were silk sheets and mahogany doors, golden frames and exquisite paintings. Food that could put even the finest of chefs to shame in the human world. Such was the epitome of luxury and the wealth of a Duke of the 72 pillars.

And she hated it.

The rooms were exquisite and the beds were soft, but they were cold, so very cold and empty without them. The hallways were covered with red velvet rugs, but her feet felt like they were sinking with every step she took. The food was incredible and delicious, yet it was flavorless; it flowed hollowly over her tastebuds, because there was no laughter at the dinner table from jokes and jeers of training. There was no serene smile or cocksure smirk waiting for her at the end of the hallway. There was no warm body sleeping next to her in those silk sheets.

She hated it, and she refused to be weighed down by it.

She refused to blind herself and bury her head in the sand, no matter how comfortable it may seem, that wasn't what her mother had taught her, that wasn't what _he_ had taught her.

" _I'm going to save you_."

She wasn't going to wait.

She'd been training every day, sometimes even pushing and abusing her body to the point of exhaustion to achieve her strength. Her _master_ had noticed and tried to stop her, but she brushed it off. She was going to become strong, stronger than her _master_ until she could stand on her own two feet and walk beside him in the dawn. He thought he was going to save her, but he was wrong,

She was going to save him from himself.

"Akeno!"

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her _master_ 's excited shouting.

"My parents are allowing me to go to the human world for an education there! Finally I'll be free from that _pig_ Riser. You used to live in the human world right? What's it like? Who lives there? Did you have any…"

Akeno slowly tuned out the sound of her _master_ 's excited raving, putting on a serene smile and nodding along. She'd been living in this _hole_ for four years after all, and you don't live four years with creatures of sin and pick up a few things along the way.

Still, _freedom_? What right did she have to complain to her about _freedom_? Her freedom had been snatched away, her innocence torn from her and the closest thing she had to a sibling ripped away. If that wasn't enough, she'd been collared and leashed like a dog. They may decorate it with stronger powers and large mansions, but it was still slavery.

"Akeno?"

She was jolted from her malicious thoughts by her _master_ 's inquisitive look, no doubt pretending to be curious about her well-being.

"It's alright, Rias, I'm fine." Her serene smile never once flickering, "So, where are we going?"

Her _master_ 's face brightened once again and she eagerly spoke, "Japan! In a town called Kuoh just outside of Tokyo!"

 **AN: Guess what, I'm not dead.**

 **Sorry about the long wait, writer's block is a bitch to deal with, and Breath of the Wild is a really good game. Thankfully it was destroyed when I discovered that AOT season 2 had** _ **finally**_ **come out. Then I discovered Berserk! And let's say that my writer's block is effectively a cloud of dust in the wind at the moment.**

 **So, in this chapter we get a glimpse of life inside the Grigori and the Fallen Angel half of the Underworld. We also see how Akeno's doing in the Gremory manor. Honestly, I thought it was kinda dumb that Akeno blame her Father for all her issues rather than deal with them. It's one thing to run, but it's another thing to load everything onto another person. So I tweaked Akeno's mindset a bit due to her interactions with Yukiyo and due to the fact that she received training from her father when she was younger. Another issue I had was how Akeno was always so reliant on Issei for mental stability. I mean** _ **really**_ **you're the daughter of one of the most ironclad Fallen Angels of all time and you have to rely on a perverted high school student?**

 **Please leave a Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, like what you liked and what you think I could improve on. If you like this story than be sure to follow it so that you know when new chapters are going to be released. And if you like it quite a lot then please favorite it, it would mean a lot to know that my readers actually like the story.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Highschool DxD, I only own my OC.**

"Seems like she's finally calmed down." Azazel finally spoke after several minutes of silence between the five of them.

At the moment, Yukiyo and his team were standing in the Governor-General's office, staring at a monitor that depicted the prison cell that Kuroka had found herself in upon regaining consciousness. It was a large concrete cell with an area around twenty feet by twenty feet with no carpeting and a single bed and toilet, there were no windows and the door was steel and barred. Not only that, but the cells walls and door were etched with wards and rune sequences that created high level imprisonment bounded fields that robbed the prana of anything that struck them with the intent to escape. The first thing the Stray Devil did upon regaining awareness was to go on a rampage and attempt to break out of the concrete cell that they had placed her into, with no success of course. It only took several minutes before the Mana within her system that was driving her insane was siphoned from her body when she repeatedly hit and clawed at the walls and doors until she lost consciousness a second time. Several hours passed in silence until she woke up again and moved to sit in the middle of the cold floor.

None of them formed a response until Azazel waved his hand and a portion of the wall that hid the monitor moved and slid back into place. "I want to congratulate all of you on your resounding success, it's not everyday that Grigori captures Senjutsu users."

Vali shrugged, "It's not like she was any strong, her moves were easy to read and she didn't really make any effort to hide from me once I went to look for her."

Yukiyo rolled his eyes, "It's not like we had a Longinus, a Holy Sword and a Reality Marble on our side to help calm her down or anything." He said easily. Everyone in this room knew that he had a Reality Marble, and it wasn't like he was keeping anything hidden from them.

Azazel had found out after he gave the teen a checkup once Yukiyo officially agreed to join Grigori. The doctor conducting it had been hypnotized and forced to forget to maintain anonymity. Satellizer found out because he told her about it, he couldn't keep much hidden from her for long. Vali and Arthur had found out once he'd sparred against them. Vali had demanded time and time again that he go all out when fighting him, but he refused. Unlimited Blade Works, while powerful, was nothing compared to a Juggernaut Drive enhanced White Dragon Emperor who was the descendant of the original Sin of Pride.

Vali scowled and looked to the side while Azazel smirked at his comment, "Was she so much trouble that she made you use it, Yukiyo?"

The teen in question shook his head, "She was under the effects from Gaia's hatred, if she was sane she would've given us a lot more trouble."

The head of Grigori nodded before turning to the rest of them, "Why don't you all take some time to relax for a while, I'll call you guys up if I need you." The four nodded before they turned and began to leave, "Hold on a second Yukiyo, I want to talk to you alone."

They stopped before Vali shrugged and walked out of the room, Arthur bowed before following after a few minutes. Only Satellizer lingered after the other two left. Yukiyo gave her a smile and grabbed her hand and planted a small kiss on her head.

"I'll be fine, you go relax."

Satellizer scowled for a second before she sighed and walked out of the room, the boy sighed, knowing that he'd have to make it up to her later. He pushed those thoughts out of his mind and closed the door before turning to Azazel. His face turned back into the steel mask that had become it's default expression.

"What do you want?"

The Fallen smirked, "My my, so rude to the man who took you in, I thought you'd be a bit more grateful for the graciousness of a black-hearted Fallen Angel such as myself."

Despite himself, Yukiyo gave a small snort. "Graciousness my ass, you took me in because you thought I was interesting."

Azazel closed his eyes but didn't refute the statement, all the while maintaining his smirk. That soon faded however as his face turned unexpectedly serious. "Yukiyo, the reason why I needed to speak with you, is because you're one of the few people that I can trust with this information."

The incarnation raised an eyebrow at that as a motion to continue, "I have gained some evidence that there's been a splinter group that've turned traitor to Grigori and working in a different organization."

Yukiyo's brows turned into a scowl as he realized what Azazel meant. "Do you have a name for the organization?" He asked, in response his foster father shook his head in the negative.

"At the moment, I've got nothing other than superstition and my own paranoia. But I believe that our new prisoner can assist us with drawing out an agent from the group that snatched away our soldiers."

The corners of Yukiyo's mouth fell into a frown, "So you plan to use the potential of a Senjutsu user to lure them out?"

Azazel nodded, "Senjutsu users are rare enough, but to find a _Nekoshou_ , well, that's even rarer."

Yukiyo had to fight back the urge to widen his eyes, how did the old man figure it out that she wasn't just a Nekomata that easily? Was it her aptitude for the spiritual arts? Or maybe the fact that Nekomata were just so rare. The teen soon brushed it off and moved his thoughts forward.

"So what do you need me to do?"

At this, Yukiyo felt a _very_ slight amount of dread at the smirk that suddenly sprouted across Azazel's face.

"I want you to train her."

At this point, Yukiyo stared at Azazel as if he were senile, "You can't be serious." The man's remaining smirk answered his inquiry. "I'm not a teacher, and even if I was, I'm not a sage."

"She doesn't need help when it comes to controlling mana, she just needs to learn to manage her temper." The man spoke with a small hint of amusement in his tone. "Something you can do wonderfully."

Yukiyo scowled, "What does training her have to do with luring out traitors anyway?"

Azazel's face turned serious. "Yukiyo, these aren't just small time traitorous exorcists or the lower-class Fallen Angels. I'm talking about potential high-class Fallen, maybe even a few Cadre."

At that, Yukiyo's brow raised in slight amounts of shock. He knew that there was _one_ cadre in particular that would turncoat. But that was several years down the line. Did Azazel suspect the lord of the stars _this_ early on? Or was it mainly due to his presence and the presence of Kuroka that the old man grew apprehensive against him.

"So, do you accept?"

Yukiyo quickly wiped the shock from his face, his eyes turning to small jades. "When do I start?"

Azazel smirked and he leaned back in his seat, "You'll start tomorrow, as you'll no doubt be preoccupied trying to appease a half-daemon tonight." At that, Yukiyo allowed a small sigh before closing his eyes and nodding, which only prompted the damn grin on Azazel's face to increase, "I recommend applying reinforcement beforehand, wouldn't want you to break a few ribs, or keep you from giving me gran-"

Azazel's sentence was cut off when he found that he now had a bump on his head from a shinai kendo sword with a small tiger charm on its pommel.

 **-XXXX-**

The sword incarnation growled as he moved through the hallways of Grigori HQ, his strides were long and fast, and his muscles were tense from irritation. His face was set in a dangerous scowl as he walked down the fluorescent corridors. After Azazel had fallen over from the blow to his head, the teen promptly excused himself from the circular office that belonged to his foster father. He'd been wandering for several minutes now, trying to discover a way to expel the fire that was coursing through his blood. He was abruptly jolted from his thoughts when a small cry made him turn in small amounts of surprise.

"Onii-sama!"

When he completed his turn it was to a young girl with bright silver hair sprinting towards him. She was wearing a white jacket with a red collar and a black skirt with a grey belt tied around her waist, thigh high stockings and white sneakers completed the look. Strapped to her side was a sheathed shorter variation of a Japanese Katana. Her gentle face was turned upwards in a bright grin and her eyes were glinting with barely repressed joy.

Despite his foul mood, Yukiyo found his mouth twisting into a wry smile as the girl promptly tripped over her own feet and her face planted into the floor. She quickly got into a kneeling position before her face began swimming with tears. Yukiyo quickly made his way forward before taking off his scarf and wiping the girl's eyes.

"You should be more careful, Kirin, it's not like I was gone for long after all."

The girl sitting in front of him pouted, "Mou… I came running because I heard from Nee-san that Onii-sama got in trouble with Azazel-tousama."

Yukiyo's smile flickered for an instant. "I didn't get in trouble, the old man just wanted to talk with me about a few things after the mission."

Kirin's pout was replaced with a bright smile as her eyes sparkled with relief. Her grin happened to be infectious as he found his face easing into an easy smile. Yukiyo found Kirin while on an assignment in Japan a couple months ago. She was the girl that he happened to save years ago, back when he claimed his first kill. When she found him, she refused to let him go and latched on to him all the way back to Grigori. Vali laughed for several minutes when he found out how his fellow silverette had come to HQ. Azazel had adopted the younger girl as she had no family that none of them were willing to let her go back to.

"Onii-sama?"

Yukiyo was brought from his thoughts by an inquisitive Kirin, her grin was gone, instead replaced with innocent curiosity and slight amounts of worry.

"You have a scary look on your face."

Yukiyo blinked before he stood up and offered her a hand. His lips tugging into reassurance. "I'm okay, why you show me how much you've improved with that sword on your belt." When he finished speaking Kirin's eyes brightened and she nodded before eagerly taking his hand and leaping to her feet before dragging him in the direction of the sparring grounds.

 **-XXXX-**

Yukiyo was now wondering if he'd made a mistake.

At the moment he was standing in the Grigori's sparring grounds, an artificial forest-like area with bright fluorescent lights above him. Standing across from him in the false grass was Kirin, her face scrunched into a sharp scowl that would've appeared adorable under different circumstances. He was holding his favoured pair of married blades and she held her drawn katana, the edge pointing directly towards him. It seemed like an instant before Kirin's form vanished and reappeared directly in front of him before lashing out at one of the openings in his stance.

He quickly raised Kanshou in opposition to hers before lashing out with Bakuya. Forcing her to disengage before moving her sword along in a flowing and graceful series of spins, her entire body blurring as her sword followed. Yukiyo grit his teeth as they traded blows, small cuts opening on both of their bodies.

This was Kirin's true abilities, he gave her his family name, Himura, when she was officially adopted as his younger sister. With Azazel being their legal guardian. But before that, her surname was Nanaya, one of the four great families that made up the infamous Demon Hunter Organization. Humans that bred monsters to fight other monsters. They were later purged by the Devils and Grigori, along with the families of the cardinal beasts, due to unprovoked attacks on foreign factions. The few that were left went into hiding and continued to hone and pass on their skills. Kirin was trained from birth ever since she could manage to crawl. In fact, she was a completely emotionless killing machine until she met the woman who would effectively become her mother figure.

That woman taught her about emotion, about joy and anger. Eventually Kirin ran from the Nanaya hideout where she was later held hostage by a serial killer and saved by a boy with black and white hair.

Yukiyo was taken from his train of thoughts when Kirin's eyes flashed a bright blue color and she slashed diagonally along Kanshou. The sword then breaking in half as if it were butter. Yukiyo's own eyes narrowed and he blocked with Bakuya before tracing another Kanshou. This was another reason why Azazel had brought Kirin into Grigori besides her powerful Nanaya assassination arts,

Her Mystic Eyes, specifically the considered nonexistent Mystic Eyes of Death Perception.

Yukiyo knew that each member of the Nanaya clan had consistently acquired Pure Eyes, but for those to mutate into something _else_. Well it was rare beyond all belief. It was due to both of these traits that Kirin was considered a force to be reckoned with. She'd already been on several missions, all of which involved him.

His thoughts returned to him and the two resumed their spar, however to an untrained eye it would look more accurately be called a dance. Ambient prana flowing off of Yukiyo's palms from the continuous projection he was undergoing. If they were to continue at the pace they were going, either he would lose, or it would be a draw. His eyes narrowed as he attempted to come up with strategies to counter Kirin's various attacks but nothing would come through as she could just "kill" anything that he would Trace. Abruptly, his strategizing ceased when Kirin jumped away, her sword poised in front of her and her eyes narrowed. After several moments, her mouth opened.

"What is it that's distracting you, Onii-sama?"

Yukiyo quirked an eyebrow at her question before he closed his eyes and sighed while simultaneously letting his swords dissipate, "Let's take a break."

Kirin nodded and sheathed her blade, slowly she walked over to him as he sat cross legged on the pristine floor of the training grounds and matched his position. Her eyes drifted toward the ground as she thought of the spar, it was true that she could beat Yukiyo in the real world, but if he were to use the full unrestrained might of his magical capabilities, then she truthfully didn't know who would win. But today was different, he was invested in the battle as always, but it wasn't like he usually was; there was a part of him that was off somewhere else, as if he was here, yet there was something hanging over his head.

"Onii-sama," Yukiyo looked over to the girl upon being addressed, "Did you and Nee-san have a fight?"

Yukiyo glanced at Kirin before shaking his head, "Satella is a little frustrated with me right now, but that's not what's been distracting me." He paused for a moment before continuing, "What do you know about Senjutsu Kirin?"

She looked at him in a small amount of surprise before looking down in an attempt to try and remember what she was taught on the subject both by Azazel and the Nanaya household. "Well, Senjutsu is the ability to use the natural energy of the planet itself and to combine it with the energy produced by your own soul to manipulate the surrounding area." She looked up for a moment to see Yukiyo nodding at her with a small amount of encouragement, "Senjutsu practitioners, or Sages, if they have enough experience in the arts can even learn to manipulate the planet's natural forces, such as time or gravity."

"But this comes with the risk of?" Yukiyo interrupted.

"Taking the malice of the planet within yourself." She answered easily, "The planet has been around for a long time, and as long as humans have existed, they've been exploiting the resources provided by the world and as such, this has caused the planet to amass a large amount of Malice towards humans and living beings outside of monsters or nature spirits."

Yukiyo nodded and Kirin looked back to him, "But how has Senjutsu been distracting you, Onii-sama? Have you decided to try and become a sage?"

He looked to the ground at that before sighing, "Earlier, Azazel had sent me and a small group to secure a stray devil." Kirin raised an eyebrow as he continued to explain, "She was a Sage, a powerful one at that, the only issue was that she had lost control from the planet's hatred and as such, had gone berserk." Kirin's eyes widened and he paused for a moment, a Sage who had lost control was certainly something to be feared if they had enough experience with their craft. It was comparable to a Berserker class Lancelot that could travel through time and bend space to his whim, thankfully, experienced Sages had an easy enough time brushing off the planet's malevolence and keeping a level head, which was vital in both Magic and Senjutsu.

"Is the Sage the reason why you're distracted, Onii-sama?"

Yukiyo shook his head in response, "I'm more 'distracted' because Azazel asked me to train the Sage in how to properly control her powers."

Kirin raised an eyebrow at that, "Why? Onii-sama isn't a Sage, and you don't have any experience in controlling the arts."

Yukiyo shrugged, "He said it was because that I have experience in 'controlling my temper' but I don't have a lot of experience with that either."

Which was the truth, no matter that Yukiyo tried to act level headed. There was always a fire simmering beneath the surface of his icy mask of rationality. It had been there ever since he'd seen his mother's corpse, a hatred of everything that lived or breathed, including himself.

"You mean the rage at your mother's death." Kirin pointed out, she was one of the few that knew of his reason for training so hard to contend with those of the supernatural. At his core, he was an embodiment of rage and hatred, and all of that was sitting behind his human flesh, a monster made of swords that was waiting to be unleashed. "Onii-sama, maybe you should think about it from your mother's view," Yukiyo's fists clenched at that and he bit his tongue to keep from lashing out at Kirin "Would she ever want you to lose yourself to rage?"

" _Hate is a double-edged sword."_

The teen's eyes widened as he remembered the promise that he'd made with an old Fallen Angel all those years ago.

He smiled and ruffled Kirin's hair, causing her to let out a small "ummm" of surprise and slight pleasure. His smile grew to a smirk as he stood up and turned, moving outside the white walled training room and towards his own room.

"Onii-sama?" He paused at hearing Kirin's unasked question and turned back to her,

"Thanks, Kirin, you reminded me."

Kirin blinked once out of confusion before he turned around and continued walking down the hallway. He would worry about Kuroka later, but for now, he would find Satellizer and comfort her in one of the few ways he knew he could.

By making her feel like the only woman in his life.

 **-XXXX-**

When Yukiyo arrived back at his room, Satellizer was standing in front of their mirror brushing her hair. When he entered she set the brush down and turned to him, her face set into its standard scowl as she walked up to him and furiously smashed her lips against his. She shoved her tongue and twirled into it and he responded with equal fervor. Satellizer growled as she tore off his upper body armor and began to lead him towards their bed.

 **AN: Yeah, I probably could've brought in what I have planned, but I want to save that for next chapter. Have to say I'm not exactly proud with how this turned out, but I at least wanted to give you guys something before I drop off the map again. I won't give a set date, it feels way too restricting to have a concrete schedule and I would like to work at my own pace. Now to address the elephant in the room, I'm putting Dragon Death God on an indefinite hiatus, I'm not proud of that story and the plans that I have would take too long to put out, and I don't want that story to take up mys conscience.**

 **Please leave a Review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, like what you liked and what you think I could improve on. If you like this story than be sure to follow it so that you know when new chapters are going to be released. And if you like it quite a lot then please favorite it, it would mean a lot to know that my readers actually like the story.**


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